WHEN  BUFFALO  RAN 


OTHER  BOOKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

Pawnee  Hero  Stories  and  Folk  Tales 
Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales 
The  Story  of  the  Indian 
The  Indians  of  Today 
The  Fighting  Cheyennes 


PEOPLE      LOOKING      FROM      THE      LODGES 


WHEN  BUFFALO  RAN 

BY    GEORGE    BIRD    GRINNELL 


NEW   HAVEN  :    YALE   UNIVERSITY  PRESS  :  1920 
LONDON.  :  HUMPHREY  MILFORD  :  OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


Copyright,  1920,  by 
Yale  University  Press. 

First  published, 


Table  of  Contents. 

Introduction:  The  Plains  Country       ....  9 

The  Attack  on  the  Camp 11 

Standing  Alone         . 19 

The  Way  to  Live 25 

Lessons  of  the  Prairie 31 

On  a  Buffalo  Horse 41 

In  the  Medicine  Circle 53 

Among  Enemy  Lodges 61 

A  Grown  Man 73 

A  Sacrifice 79 

A  Warrior  Ready  to  Die 87 

A  Lie  That  Came  True 97 

My  Marriage 109 


42?  791. 


List  of  Illustrations. 
People  Looking  from  the  Lodges  .      .      .  Frontispiece 

Facing  page 

Hunting  in  the  Brush  along  the  River  ...  16 

My  Grandmother  Lived  in  Our  Lodge  ...  20 
My  Grandfather  .  .  .  Long  before  Had  Given 

up  the  Warpath 28 

I  Killed  Many  Buffalo  and  My  Mother  Dressed 

the  Hides 48 

Holding  the  Pipe  to  the  Sky  and  to  the  Earth  .  56 

"Do  Not  Go,  Wait  a  Little  Longer"  ....  80 

Watch  the  Men  and  Older  Boys  Playing  at  Sticks  104 


The  Plains  Country. 


SEVENTY  years  ago,  when  some  of  the  events  here  re 
counted  took  place,  Indians  were  Indians,  and  the  plains 
were  the  plains  indeed. 

Those  plains  stretched  out  in  limitless  rolling  swells 
of  prairie  until  they  met  the  blue  sky  that  on  every  hand 
bent  down  to  touch  them.  In  spring  brightly  green,  and 
spangled  with  wild  flowers,  by  midsummer  this  prairie 
had  grown  sere  and  yellow.  Clumps  of  dark  green  cot- 
tonwoods  marked  the  courses  of  the  infrequent  streams 
— for  most  of  the  year  the  only  note  of  color  in  the  land 
scape,  except  the  brilliant  sky.  On  the  wide,  level  river 
bottoms,  sheltered  by  the  enclosing  hills,  the  Indians 
pitched  their  conical  skin  lodges  and  lived  their  simple 
lives.  If  the  camp  were  large  the  lodges  stood  in  a  wide 
circle,  but  if  only  a  few  families  were  together,  they  were 
scattered  along  the  stream. 

In  the  spring  and  early  summer  the  rivers,  swollen  by 
the  melting  snows,  were  often  deep  and  rapid,  but  a  little 
later  they  shrank  to  a  few  narrow  trickles  running  over 
a  bed  of  sand,  and  sometimes  the  water  sank  wholly  out 
of  sight. 

The  animals  of  the  prairie  and  the  roots  and  berries 
that  grew  in  the  bottoms  and  on  the  uplands  gave  the 
people  their  chief  sustenance. 

In  such  surroundings  the  boy  Wikis  was  born  and 

9 


Buffalo  Ran. 

grew  up.  The  people  that  he  knew  well  were  those  of  his 
own  camp.  Once  a  year  perhaps,  for  a  few  weeks,  he  saw 
the  larger  population  of  a  great  camp,  but  for  the  most 
part  half  a  dozen  families  of  the  tribe,  with  the  buffalo, 
the  deer,  the  wolves,  and  the  smaller  animals  and  birds, 
were  the  companions  with  whom  he  lived  and  from  whom 
he  learned  life's  lessons. 

The  incidents  of  this  simple  story  are  true. 

The  life  of  those  days  and  the  teachings  received  by 
the  boy  or  the  girl  who  was  to  take  part  in  it  have  passed 
away  and  will  not  return. 


10 


The  Attack  on  the  Camp. 


IT  is  the  first  thing  that  I  can  recollect,  and  comes  back 
to  me  now  dimly — only  as  a  dream.  My  mother  used  to 
tell  me  of  it,  and  often  to  laugh  at  me.  She  said  I  was 
then  about  five  or  six  years  old. 

I  must  have  been  playing  with  other  little  boys  near 
the  lodge,  and  the  first  thing  that  I  remember  is  seeing 
people  running  to  and  fro,  men  jumping  on  their  horses, 
and  women  gathering  up  their  children.  I  remember 
how  the  men  called  to  each  other,  and  that  some  were 
shouting  the  war  cry ;  and  then  that  they  all  rode  away  in 
the  same  direction.  My  mother  rushed  out  and  caught 
me  by  the  hand,  and  began  to  pull  me  toward  the  lodge, 
and  then  she  stopped  and  in  a  shrill,  sweet  voice  began  to 
sing ;  and  other  women  that  were  running  about  stopped 
too,  and  began  to  sing  songs  to  encourage  their  husbands 
and  brothers  and  sons  to  fight  bravely ;  for  enemies  were 
attacking  the  camp. 

I  did  not  understand  it  at  all,  but  I  was  excited  and 
glad  to  hear  the  noise,  and  to  see  people  rushing  about. 
Soon  I  could  hear  shooting  at  a  distance.  Then  pres 
ently  I  saw  the  men  come  riding  back  toward  the  camp ; 
and  saw  the  enemy  following  them  down  toward  the 
,  lodges,  and  that  there  were  many  of  these  strangers, 
while  our  people  were  only  a  few.  But  still  my  people 
kept  stopping  and  turning  and  fighting.  Now  the  noise 

11 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

was  louder.  The  women  sang  their  strong  heart  songs 
more  shrilly,  and  I  could  hear  more  plainly  the  whoops 
of  men,  and  the  blowing  of  war  whistles,  and  the  reports 
of  guns. 

Presently  one  of  our  men  fell  off  his  horse.  The  enemy 
charged  forward  in  a  body  to  touch  him,  and  our  few 
men  rushed  to  meet  them,  to  keep  them  from  striking 
the  fallen  one,  and  from  taking  the  head.  And  now  the 
women  began  to  be  frightened,  and  some  of  them  ran 
away.  My  mother  rushed  to  the  lodge,  caught  up  my 
little  sister,  and  threw  her  on  her  back,  and  holding  me 
by  the  hand,  ran  toward  the  river.  By  this  time  I  was 
afraid,  and  I  ran  as  hard  as  I  could;  but  my  legs  were 
short  and  I  could  not  keep  up,  even  though  my  mother 
had  a  load  on  her  back.  Nevertheless,  she  pulled  me 
along.  Every  little  while  I  stumbled  and  lost  my  feet ;  but 
she  dragged  me  on,  and  as  she  lifted  me  up,  I  caught  my 
feet  again,  and  ran  on. 

Before  long  I  began  to  tire,  and  I  remember  that  I 
wanted  to  stop.  In  after  years  mother  used  to  laugh  at 
me  about  this,  and  say  that  I  had  asked  her  to  throw 
away  my  sister,  and  to  put  me  on  her  back  and  carry  me 
instead.  She  used  to  say,  too,  that  if  she  had  been  obliged 
to  throw  away  either  child  I  should  have  been  the  one 
left  behind,  for  as  I  was  a  boy,  and  would  grow  up  to  be 
a  warrior,  and  to  fight  the  enemies  of  our  tribe,  I  might 
very  likely  be  killed  anyway,  and  it  might  as  well  be  ear 
lier  as  later. 

When  we  reached  the  river,  my  mother  threw  herself 

12 


The  Attack  on  the  Camp. 

into  it.  Usually  it  was  not  more  than  knee-deep,  but  at 
this  time  the  water  was  high  from  the  spring  floods,  and 
my  mother  had  to  swim,  holding  my  sister  on  her  back, 
and  at  the  same  time  supporting  me,  for  though  I  could 
swim  a  little,  I  was  not  strong  enough  to  breast  the  cur 
rent,  and  without  help  would  have  been  carried  away. 

After  we  had  crossed  the  river  and  come  out  on  the 
other  side,  we  looked  back  toward  the  village,  and  could 
see  that  the  enemy  were  retreating.  They  might  easily 
have  killed  or  driven  off  the  few  warriors  of  our  small 
camp,  but  not  far  from  us  there  was  a  larger  camp  of 
our  people,  and  when  they  heard  the  shooting  and  the 
shouting,  they  came  rushing  to  help  us;  and  when  the 
enemy  saw  them  coming,  they  began  to  yield  and  then 
to  run  away.  Our  warriors  followed  and  killed  some  of 
them ;  but  the  most  of  them  got  away  after  having  killed 
four  warriors  of  our  camp,  whose  hard  fighting  and  death 
had  perhaps  saved  the  little  village. 

After  the  enemy  had  retreated,  my  mother  crossed  the 
river  again,  being  helped  over  by  a  man  who  was  on  the 
side  opposite  the  camp,  and  who  let  us  ride  his  horse, 
while  he  held  its  tail  and  swam  behind  it. 

In  the  village  that  night  there  was  mourning  for  those 
who  had  lost  their  lives  to  save  their  friends.  Their  rela 
tions  cried  very  pitifully  over  the  dead;  and  early  the 
next  day  their  bodies  were  carried  to  the  top  of  a  hill 
near  the  village,  and  buried  there. 

After  the  mourning  for  the  dead  was  ended,  the  peo 
ple  had  dances  over  the  scalps  that  had  been  taken  from 

13 


When  Buffalo  Ean. 

the  enemy,  rejoicing  over  the  victory.  Men  and  women 
blackened  their  faces,  and  danced  in  a  circle  about  the 
scalps,  held  on  poles;  and  old  men  and  old  women 
shouted  the  names  of  those  men  who  had  been  the  bravest 
in  the  fight.  We  little  boys  looked  on  and  sang  and 
danced  by  ourselves  away  from  the  circle. 

It  was  soon  after  this  that  my  uncle  made  me  a  bow 
and  some  blunt-headed  arrows,  with  which  he  told  me  I 
should  hunt  little  birds,  and  should  learn  to  kill  food,  to 
help  support  my  mother  and  sisters,  as  a  man  ought  to 
do.  With  these  arrows  I  used  to  practice  shooting,  try 
ing  to  see  how  far  I  could  shoot,  how  near  I  could  send 
the  arrow  to  the  mark  I  shot  at;  and  afterwards,  as  I 
grew  a  little  older,  hunting  in  the  brush  along  the  river, 
or  on  the  prairie  not  far  from  the  camp  with  the  other 
little  boys.  We  hunted  the  blackbirds,  or  the  larks,  or 
the  buffalo  birds  that  fed  among  the  horses'  feet,  or  the 
other  small  birds  that  lived  among  the  bushes  and  trees 
in  the  bottom.  If  I  killed  a  little  bird,  as  sometimes  I  did, 
my  mother  cooked  it  and  we  ate  it. 

This  was  a  happy  time  for  me.  We  little  boys  played 
together  all  the  time.  Sometimes  the  older  boys  allowed 
us  to  go  with  them,  when  they  went  far  from  the  village, 
to  hunt  rabbits,  and  when  they  did  this,  sometimes  they 
told  us  to  carry  back  the  rabbits  that  they  had  killed ;  and 
I  remember  that  once  I  came  back  with  the  heads  of  three 
rabbits  tucked  under  my  belt,  killed  by  my  cousin,  who 
was  older  than  I.  Then  we  used  to  go  out  and  watch  the 
men  and  older  boys  playing  at  sticks ;  and  we  had  little 

14 


The  Attack  on  the  Camp. 

sticks  of  our  own,  and  our  older  brothers  and  cousins 
made  us  wheels;  and  we,  too,  played  the  stick  game 
among  ourselves,  rolling  the  wheel  and  chasing  it  as 
hard  as  we  could;  but,  for  the  most  part,  we  threw  our 
sticks  at  marks,  trying  to  learn  how  to  throw  them  well, 
and  how  to  slide  them  far  over  the  ground. 

I  remember  another  thing — a  sad  thing — that  hap 
pened  when  I  was  a  very  little  boy. 

It  was  winter ;  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground ;  a  few 
lodges  of  people  were  camped  in  some  timber  among  the 
foothills;  buffalo  were  close,  and  game  was  plenty;  the 
camp  was  living  well.  With  the  others  I  played  about  the 
camp,  spinning  tops  on  the  ice,  sliding  down  hill  on  a  bit 
of  parfleche,  or  on  a  sled  made  of  buffalo  ribs,  and  some 
times  hunting  little  birds  in  the  brush.  All  this  I  know 
about  from  having  heard  my  mother  tell  of  it;  it  is 
not  in  my  memory.  This  is  what  I  remember :  One  day, 
with  one  of  my  friends,  I  had  gone  a  little  way  from  the 
camp,  and  down  the  stream.  A  few  days  before  there  had 
been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  and  after  that  some  warm 
days,  so  that  the  top  of  the  snow  had  melted.  Then  had 
come  a  hard  cold,  which  had  frozen  it,  so  that  on  the  snow 
there  was  a  crust  over  which  we  could  easily  run. 

As  we  were  playing  we  went  around  the  point  of  a  hill, 
and  suddenly,  close  to  us,  saw  a  big  bull.  He  seemed  to 
have  come  from  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  was  plow 
ing  his  way  through  the  deep  snow,  which  came  halfway 
up  to  the  top  of  his  hump.  When  we  saw  the  bull  we  were 
a  little  frightened;  but  as  we  watched  him  we  saw  that 

15 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

he  could  hardly  move,  and  that  after  he  had  made 
a  jump  or  two  he  stood  still  for  a  long  time,  puffing  and 
blowing,  before  he  tried  to  go  further.  As  we  watched 
him  he  came  to  a  low  place  in  the  prairie,  and  here  he 
sank  still  deeper  in  the  snow,  so  that  part  of  his  head 
was  hidden,  and  only  his  hump  showed  above  it.  My 
friend  said  to  me,  "Let  us  go  up  to  this  bull,  and  shoot 
him  with  our  arrows."  We  began  to  go  toward  him 
slowly,  and  he  did  not  see  us  until  we  had  come  quite 
close  to  him,  when  he  turned  and  tried  to  run;  but  the 
snow  was  so  deep  that  he  could  not  go  at  all ;  on  each  side 
it  rose  up,  and  rolled  over,  away  from  him,  as  the  water 
is  pushed  away  and  swells  out  on  either  side  before  a 
duck  that  is  swimming.  My  friend  was  very  brave,  and 
he  said  to  me,  "I  am  going  to  shoot  that  bull,  and  count 
a  coup  on  him" ;  and  he  ran  up  close  to  the  bull,  and  shot 
his  blunt-headed  arrow  against  him,  and  then  turned  off. 
The  bull  tried  hard  to  go  faster,  but  the  snow  was  too 
deep ;  and  when  I  saw  that  he  could  not  move,  I,  too,  ran 
up  close  to  him,  and  shot  my  arrow  at  him,  and  the  ar 
row  bounded  off  and  fell  on  the  snow.  Again  my  friend 
did  this,  and  then  I  did  it;  and  each  time  the  bull  was 
frightened  and  struggled  to  get  away:  but  the  last  time 
my  friend  did  it  the  bull  had  reached  higher  ground, 
where  the  snow  was  not  so  deep,  and  he  had  more  free 
dom.  My  friend  shot  his  arrow  into  him,  and  I  was  fol 
lowing  not  far  behind,  expecting  to  shoot  mine ;  but  when 
the  bull  felt  the  blow  of  the  last  arrow,  he  turned  toward 
my  friend  and  made  a  quick  rush;  the  snow  was  less 

16 


HUNTING     IN    THE    BRUSH    ALONG    THE    RIVER 


The  Attack  on  the  Camp. 

deep;  he  went  faster;  my  little  friend  slipped,  and  the 
bull  caught  him  with  his  horns  and  threw  him  far.  My 
friend  fell  close  to  me,  and  where  he  fell  the  snow  was 
red  with  his  blood,  for  the  great  horn  had  caught  him 
just  above  the  waist,  and  had  ripped  his  body  open 
nearly  to  the  throat. 

I  went  up  to  him  in  a  moment,  and,  catching  him, 
pulled  him  over  the  smooth  crust,  far  from  the  bull ;  but 
when  I  stopped  and  looked  at  him,  he  was  still,  his  eyes 
were  dull,  and  he  did  not  breathe ;  he  was  dead. 

I  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  had  lost  my  friend,  and 
I  cried  hard.  Also,  I  wished  to  be  revenged  on  the  bull 
for  what  he  had  done ;  but  I  did  not  wish  to  be  killed.  I 
covered  my  friend  with  my  robe,  and  started  running 
fast  to  the  camp,  where  I  told  my  mother  what  had  hap 
pened.  Soon  all  the  men  in  the  camp,  and  some  of  the 
women,  had  started  with  me,  back  to  where  the  bull  was. 
My  friend's  relations  were  wailing  and  mourning,  as 
they  came  along,  and  soon  we  reached  his  body,  and  his 
relations  carried  him  back  to  the  camp.  Two  of  the  men 
went  to  where  the  bull  stood  in  the  snow  and  killed  him ; 
and  after  he  was  dead  I  struck  him  with  my  bow. 


17 


Standing  Alone. 


ALWAYS  as  winter  drew  near,  the  camps  came  closer 
together,  and  the  people  began  to  make  ready  to  start 
off  on  the  hunt  for  buffalo.  By  this  time  food  was  scarce, 
and  the  people  needed  new  robes ;  and  now  that  the  cold 
weather  was  at  hand,  the  hair  of  the  buffalo  was  long 
and  shaggy,  so  that  the  robes  would  be  soft  and  warm, 
to  keep  out  the  winter  cold. 

I  remember  that  before  the  tribe  started  there  used 
to  be  a  great  ceremony,  but  I  was  too  young  to  under 
stand  what  it  all  meant,  though  with  the  others  I  watched 
what  the  old  men  did,  and  wondered  at  it,  for  it  seemed 
very  solemn.  There  was  a  big  circle  about  which  the  peo 
ple  stood  or  sat,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  circle  there  were 
buffalo  heads  on  the  ground,  and  before  them  stood  old 
men,  who  prayed  and  offered  sacrifices,  and  passed  their 
weapons  and  their  sacred  implements  over  the  skulls, 
and  then  people  danced;  and  not  long  after  this  the 
women  loaded  their  lodges  and  their  baggage  on  the 
horses,  and  put  their  little  children  into  the  cages  on  the 
travois,  or  piled  them  on  the  loaded  pack  horses;  and 
then  presently,  in  a  long  line,  the  village  started  off  over 
the  prairie,  to  look  for  buffalo. 

Most  of  the  way  I  walked  or  ran,  playing  with  the 
other  little  boys,  or  looking  through  the  ravines  to  try 
and  find  small  birds,  or  a  rabbit,  or  a  prairie  chicken. 

19 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

Sometimes  I  rode  a  colt,  too  young  yet  to  carry  a  load, 
or  to  be  ridden  by  an  older  person,  yet  gentle  enough  to 
carry  me.  In  this  way  I  learned  to  ride. 

When  buffalo  were  found,  the  young  men  killed  them, 
and  then  the  whole  camp,  women  and  children,  went  out 
to  where  the  buffalo  lay,  and  meat  and  hides  were 
brought  in  to  the  camp,  where  the  women  made  robes, 
and  dried  meat.  Food  was  plenty,  and  everybody  was 
glad. 

My  grandmother  lived  in  our  lodge.  She  was  an  old 
woman  with  gray  hair,  and  was  always  working  hard. 
Whenever  there  were  skins  in  the  lodge  she  worked  at 
them  until  they  were  tanned  and  ready  for  use.  Often 
she  used  to  talk  to  me,  telling  me  about  the  old  times; 
how  our  tribe  used  to  fight  with  its  enemies,  and  conquer 
them,  and  kill  them ;  and  how  brave  the  men  always  were. 
She  used  to  tell  me  that  of  all  things  that  a  man  could  do, 
the  best  thing  was  to  be  brave.  She  would  say  to  me: 
"Your  father  was  a  brave  man,  killed  by  his  enemies 
when  he  was  fighting.  Your  grandfather,  too,  was  brave, 
and  counted  many  coups ;  he  was  a  chief,  and  is  looked  up 
to  by  everyone.  Your  other  grandfather  was  killed  in  a 
battle  when  he  was  a  young  man.  The  people  that  you 
have  for  relations  have  never  been  afraid,  and  you  must 
not  be  afraid  either.  You  must  always  do  your  best,  be 
cause  you  have  many  relations  who  have  been  braves,  and 
chiefs.  You  have  no  father  to  tell  you  how  you  ought  to 
live,  so  now  your  other  relations  must  try  to  help  you 
as  much  as  they  can,  and  advise  you  what  to  do." 

20 


Standing  Alone. 

She  used  to  tell  me  of  the  ancient  times,  and  of  things 
that  happened  then,  of  persons  who  had  strong  spiritual 
power,  and  did  wonderful  things,  and  of  certain  bad  per 
sons  and  animals,  who  harmed  people,  and  of  the  old 
times  before  the  people  had  bows,  when  they  did  not  kill 
animals  for  food,  but  lived  on  roots  and  berries.  She  told 
me  that  I  must  remember  all  these  things,  and  keep  them 
in  my  mind. 

Sometimes  my  grandmother  had  hard  pains  in  her 
legs,  and  it  hurt  her  to  walk,  and  when  she  had  these 
pains  she  could  not  go  about  much,  and  could  not  work. 
When  this  happened,  sometimes  she  used  to  ask  me  to 
go  dowrn  to  the  stream  and  fetch  her  a  skin  of  water ;  and 
I  would  whine,  and  say  to  her,  "Grandmother,  I  do  not 
want  to  carry  water;  men  do  not  carry  water."  Then  she 
would  tell  us  some  story  about  the  bad  things  that  had 
happened  to  boys  who  refused  to  carry  water  for  their 
grandmothers ;  and  when  I  was  little  these  stories  fright 
ened  me,  and  I  would  go  for  the  water.  So  perhaps  I 
helped  her  a  little  in  some  things  after  she  was  old.  Yet 
she  lived  until  I  was  a  grown  man;  and  so  long  as  she 
lived  she  worked  hard ;  except  when  she  had  these  pains. 

Sometimes  my  mother  and  some  of  her  relations  would 
go  off  and  camp  together  for  a  long  time ;  and  then  per 
haps  they  would  join  a  larger  camp,  and  stay  with  them 
for  a  while.  In  these  larger  camps  we  children  had  much 
fun,  playing  our  different  games.  We  had  many  of  these. 
Some,  like  those  I  have  spoken  of,  we  played  in  winter, 
and  some  we  played  in  summer.  Often  the  little  girls 

21 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

caught  some  of  the  dogs,  and  harnessed  them  to  little 
travois,  and  took  their  baby  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
others  of  the  younger  children,  and  moved  off  a  little 
way  from  the  camp,  and  there  pitched  their  little  lodges. 
The  boys  went  too,  and  we  all  played  at  living  in  camp. 
In  these  camps  we  did  the  things  that  older  people  do. 
A  boy  and  girl  pretended  to  be  husband  and  wife,  and 
lived  in  the  lodge ;  the  girl  cooked  and  the  boy  went  out 
hunting.  Sometimes  some  of  the  boys  pretended  that 
they  were  buffalo,  and  showed  themselves  on  the  prairie  a 
little  way  off,  and  other  boys  were  hunters,  and  went  out 
to  chase  the  buffalo.  We  were  too  little  to  have  horses, 
but  the  boys  rode  sticks,  which  they  held  between  their 
legs,  and  lashed  with  their  quirts  to  make  them  go  faster. 
Among  those  who  played  in  this  way  was  a  girl  smaller 
than  I,  the  daughter  of  Two  Bulls — a  brave  man,  a 
friend  to  my  uncle.  The  little  girl's  name  was  Standing 
Alone;  she  was  pretty  and  nice,  and  always  pleasant; 
but  she  was  always  busy  about  something — always  work 
ing  hard,  and  when  she  and  I  played  at  being  husband 
and  wife,  she  was  always  going  for  wood,  or  pretending 
to  dress  hides.  I  liked  her,  and  she  liked  me,  and  in  these 
play  camps  we  always  had  our  little  lodge  together ;  but 
if  I  sat  in  the  lodge,  and  pretended  to  be  resting  longer 
than  she  thought  right,  she  used  to  scold  me,  and  tell  me 
to  go  out  and  hunt  for  food,  saying  that  no  lazy  man 
could  be  her  husband.  When  she  said  this  I  did  not  an 
swer  and  seemed  to  pay  no  attention  to  her  words,  but 
sat  for  a  little  while,  thinking,  and  then  I  went  out  of  the 

22 


Standing  Alone. 

lodge,  and  did  as  she  said.  When  I  came  in  again, 
whether  I  brought  anything  or  not,  she  was  always 
pleasant. 

Once,  when  we  were  running  buffalo,  one  of  the  boys, 
who  was  a  buffalo,  charged  me  when  I  got  near  him,  and 
struck  me  with  the  thorn  which  he  carried  on  the  end  of 
his  stick,  and  which  we  used  to  call  the  buffalo's  horn. 
The  thorn  pierced  me  in  the  body,  and,  according  to  the 
law  of  our  play,  I  was  so  badly  wounded  that  I  was 
obliged  to  die.  I  went  a  little  way  toward  the  village, 
and  then  pretended  to  be  very  weak.  Then  my  compan 
ions  carried  me  into  the  camp,  and  to  the  lodge,  and 
Standing  Alone  mourned  over  her  husband  who  had  been 
killed  while  hunting  buffalo.  Then  one  of  the  boys,  who 
pretended  that  he  was  a  medicine  man,  built  a  sweat 
lodge,  and  doctored  me,  and  I  recovered. 


23 


The  Way  to  Live. 


I  MUST  have  been  ten  years  old  when  my  uncle  first  be 
gan  to  talk  to  me.  Long  before  this,  when  he  had  made  a 
bow  and  some  arrows  for  me,  he  had  told  me  that  I  must 
learn  to  hunt,  so  that  in  the  time  to  come  I  would  be  able 
to  kill  food,  and  to  support  my  mother  and  sisters.  "We 
'must  all  eat,"  he  had  said,  "and  the  Creator  has  given  us 
buffalo  to  support  life.  It  is  the  part  of  a  man  to  kill 
food  for  the  lodge,  and  after  it  has  been  killed,  the  women 
bring  in  the  meat,  and  prepare  it  to  be  eaten,  while  they 
dress  the  hides  for  robes  and  lodge  skins." 

My  uncle  was  a  brave  man,  and  was  always  going  off 
on  the  warpath,  searching  for  the  camps  of  enemies,  tak 
ing  their  horses,  and  sometimes  fighting  bravely.  He  was 
still  a  young  man,  not  married;  but  was  quiet  and  of 
good  sense  and  all  the  people  respected  him.  Even  the 
chiefs  and  older  men  used  to  listen  to  him  when  he  spoke ; 
and  sometimes  he  was  asked  to  a  feast  to  which  many 
older  men  were  invited. 

All  my  life  I  have  tried  to  remember  what  he  told  me 
this  first  time  that  he  talked  with  me,  for  it  was  good  ad 
vice,  and  came  to  me  from  a  good  man,  who  afterwards 
became  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe. 

One  day,  soon  after  he  had  returned  from  one  of  his 
warpaths,  he  said  to  me,  early  in  the  morning:  "My  son, 
get  your  bow  and  arrows,  and  you  and  I  will  go  over  into 

25 


When  Buffalo  Ban. 

the  hills,  hunting.  We  will  try  to  kill  some  rabbits,  and 
perhaps  we  may  find  a  deer." 

I  was  glad  to  go  with  my  uncle;  no  grown  man  had 
ever  before  asked  me  to  go  with  him,  and  to  have  him 
speak  to  me  like  this  made  me  feel  glad  and  proud.  I  ran 
quickly  and  got  my  bow,  and  we  set  out,  walking  over  the 
prairie.  We  walked  a  long  way,  and  I  was  beginning  to 
get  tired,  when  we  came  to  a  place  where  we  started  first 
one  rabbit  and  then  another,  and  then  a  third.  I  shot  at 
one,  but  missed  it;  and  my  uncle  killed  all  three.  After 
this  we  went  up  to  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  to  look  over  the 
country.  We  saw  nothing,  but  as  we  sat  there  my  uncle 
spoke  to  me,  telling  me  of  the  things  that  he  had  done  not 
long  before ;  and  after  a  time  he  began  to  tell  me  how  I 
ought  to  live,  and  what  I  ought  to  do  as  I  grew  older. 

He  said  to  me:  "My  son,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  some 
things  that  will  be  useful  to  you;  and  if  you  listen  to 
what  I  say,  your  life  will  be  easier  for  you  to  live;  you 
will  not  make  mistakes,  and  you  will  come  to  be  liked 
and  respected  by  all  the  people.  Before  many  years  now 
you  will  be  a  man,  and  as  you  grow  up  you  must  try  more 
and  more  to  do  the  things  that  men  do.  There  are  a  few 
things  that  a  boy  must  always  remember. 

"When  older  people  speak  to  you,  you  must  stop  what 
you  are  doing  and  listen  to  what  they  say,  and  must  do 
as  they  tell  you.  If  anyone  says  to  you,  'My  son,  go  out 
and  drive  in  my  horses,'  you  must  go  at  once;  do  not 
wait;  do  not  make  anyone  speak  to  you  a  second  time; 
start  at  once. 

26 


The  Way  to  Live. 

"You  must  get  up  early  in  the  morning;  do  not  let  the 
sun,  when  it  first  shines,  find  you  in  bed.  Get  up  at  the 
first  dawn  of  day,  and  go  early  out  into  the  hills  and  look 
for  your  horses.  These  horses  will  soon  be  put  in  your 
charge,  and  you  must  watch  over  them,  and  must  never 
lose  them;  and  you  must  always  see  that  they  have  water. 

"You  must  take  good  care  of  your  arms.  Always  keep 
them  in  good  order.  A  man  who  has  poor  arms  cannot 
fight. 

"It  is  important  for  you  to  do  all  these  things.  But 
there  is  one  thing  more  important  than  anything  else, 
and  that  is  to  be  brave.  Soon  you  will  be  going  on  a  war 
path,  and  then  you  must  strive  always  to  be  in  the  front 
of  the  fighting,  and  to  try  hard  to  strike  many  of  the 
enemy.  You  must  be  saying  all  the  time  to  yourself,  'I 
will  be  brave;  I  will  not  fear  anything.'  If  you  do  that, 
the  people  will  all  know  of  it,  and  will  look  on  you  as  a 
man. 

"There  is  another  thing:  if  by  chance  you  should  do 
anything  that  is  great,  you  must  not  talk  of  it ;  you  must 
never  go  about  telling  of  the  great  things  that  you  have 
done,  or  that  you  intend  to  do.  To  do  that  is  not  manly. 
When  you  are  at  war  you  may  do  brave  things,  and  other 
people  will  see  what  you  have  done,  and  will  tell  of  it.  If 
you  should  chance  to  perform  any  brave  act,  do  not 
speak  of  it ;  let  your  comrades  do  this ;  it  is  not  for  you  to 
tell  of  the  things  that  you  have  done. 

"If  you  listen  to  my  words  you  will  become  a  good 
man,  and  will  amount  to  something.  If  you  let  the  wind 

27 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

blow  them  away,  you  will  become  lazy,  and  will  never 
do  anything." 

So  my  uncle  talked  to  me  for  a  long  time,  and  just  as 
he  had  finished  his  talking,  we  saw,  down  in  the  valley 
below  us,  a  deer  come  out  from  behind  some  brush,  and 
feed  for  a  little  while,  and  then  it  went  back  into  another 
patch  of  brush,  and  did  not  come  out  again. 

"Ah,"  said  my  uncle,  "I  think  we  can  kill  that  deer." 
We  went  around  a  long  distance,  to  come  down  without 
being  seen  to  where  the  deer  was,  and  we  had  crept  up 
close  to  the  edge  of  the  bushes  before  the  deer  knew  that 
we  were  there.  When  we  reached  the  place  we  walked 
around  it,  he  on  one  side  and  I  on  the  other ;  and  pres 
ently  the  deer  sprang  up  out  of  the  bushes,  and  my  uncle 
shot  it  with  his  arrow ;  and  after  it  had  run  a  distance  it 
fell  down,  and  when  we  got  to  it,  was  dead.  I  also  shot 
at  it  with  one  of  my  sharp-pointed  arrows,  but  I  did  not 
hit  it.  After  we  had  cut  up  the  meat  of  the  deer,  and  made 
it  into  a  pack,  done  up  in  the  hide,  we  started  back  to  the 
camp.  I  felt  proud  to  have  gone  on  a  hunt  with  a  man 
and  to  be  carrying  the  rabbits. 

As  we  walked  along  to  the  camp  that  night,  my  uncle 
told  me  other  things.  He  said:  "Always  be  careful  to  do 
nothing  bad  in  camp.  Do  not  quarrel  and  fight  with  your 
fellows.  Men  do  not  fight  with  each  other  in  the  camp; 
to  do  that  is  not  manly." 

You  see,  my  uncle  thought  that  I  was  now  old  enough 
to  be  taught  some  of  the  things  a  man  ought  to  do,  and 
he  tried  to  help  me ;  for  my  father  was  dead,  and  I  had  no 

28 


The  Way  to  Live. 

one  else  to  teach  me.  The  words  he  spoke  were  all  good 
words,  and  I  have  tried  always  to  remember  them. 

The  white  people  gather  up  their  children  and  send 
them  all  to  one  place  to  be  taught ;  but  that  is  not  the  way 
we  Indians  do.  Nevertheless,  we  try  to  teach  our  chil 
dren  in  our  way ;  for  children  must  be  taught,  or  they  will 
not  know  anything,  and  if  they  do  not  know  anything 
they  will  have  no  sense,  and  if  they  have  no  sense  they 
will  not  know  how  to  act. 

When  our  children  are  small,  the  mother  tries  to  keep 
them  from  making  a  noise.  It  is  not  fitting  that  young 
children  should  disturb  older  people.  I  am  telling  you 
about  the  way  I  was  taught  in  the  old  times,  when  there 
were  but  few  white  people  in  the  country. 

Because  we  have  no  schools,  like  the  white  people,  we 
have  to  teach  our  children  by  telling  them  what  to  do ;  it 
is  only  in  this  way  that  they  can  learn.  They  have  lived 
but  a  short  time,  and  cannot  know  much.  We  older  ones, 
after  we  have  lived  many  years,  and  have  listened  to 
what  our  fathers  and  brothers  have  taught  us,  know  a 
good  many  things ;  but  little  children  know  nothing.  We 
want  them  to  be  wise,  so  that  they  may  live  well  with 
their  people.  But  we  want  them  to  be  wise  also,  so  that 
when  they  are  the  chiefs  and  braves  of  the  tribe  they  may 
rule  the  people  well.  We  remember  that  before  very 
long  we  ourselves  shall  no  longer  be  here ;  and  then  the 
ones  who  are  caring  for  the  people's  welfare  will  be  these 
children  that  now  are  playing  about  the  camps.  Their 
relations,  therefore,  talk  to  the  children,  for  they  want 

29 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

their  lives  to  be  made  easier  for  them;  and  they  want 
also  to  have  the  next  generation  of  people  wise  enough 
to  help  all  the  people  to  live.  The  men  must  hunt  and  go 
to  war;  the  women  must  be  good  women,  not  foolish 
ones,  and  must  be  ready  to  work,  and  glad  to  take  care 
of  their  husbands  and  their  children.  This  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  we  like  to  have  them  play  at  moving  the 
camp,  harnessing  the  old  dogs  to  the  travois,  pitching 
the  lodges,  making  clothing  for  the  dolls ;  while  the  boys 
play  at  hunting  buffalo  and  at  making  war  journeys 
against  their  enemies.  All  are  trying  to  learn  how  to  live 
the  life  that  our  people  have  always  lived. 

My  grandfather  was  an  old  man,  who  long  before  this 
had  given  up  the  warpath.  He  spent  most  of  his  time  in 
the  camp,  and  he  used  to  make  speeches  to  the  little  and 
big  boys,  and  give  them  much  good  advice.  Once  I  heard 
him  talk  to  a  group  of  boys  playing  near  the  lodge,  and 
this  is  what  he  said:  "Listen,  you  boys;  it  is  time  you  did 
something.  You  sit  here  all  day  in  the  sun,  and  throw 
your  arrows,  and  talk  about  things  of  the  camp,  but  why 
do  you  not  do  something?  When  I  was  a  boy  it  was  not 
like  this ;  then  we  were  always  trying  to  steal  off  and  fol 
low  a  war  party.  Some  of  those  who  did  so  were  too 
little  to  fight;  but  we  used  to  follow  along,  and  try  to 
help.  In  this  way,  even  though  we  did  nothing,  we  learned 
the  ways  of  warriors.  I  do  not  want  you  boys  to  be  lazy. 
It  is  not  a  lazy  man  who  does  great  things,  so  that  he  is 
talked  about  in  the  camp,  and  his  name  is  called  aloud 
by  all  the  people,  when  the  war  party  returns." 

30 


Lessons  of  the  Prairie. 


ONCE  when  I  was  a  little  older,  I  was  out  on  the  hills 
one  day,  watching  the  horses.  They  were  feeding  quietly, 
and  I  lay  on  a  hill  and  went  to  sleep.  Suddenly  I  was 
awakened  by  a  terrible  crash  close  to  my  head,  and  I 
knew  that  a  gun  had  been  fired  close  to  me,  and  I  thought 
that  the  enemy  had  attacked  me  and  were  killing  me,  and 
would  drive  off  the  horses.  I  was  badly  frightened.  I 
sprang  to  my  feet,  and  started  to  run  to  my  horse,  and  in 
doing  this  I  ran  away  from  the  camp,  but  before  I 
reached  the  horse  I  heard  someone  laughing,  and  when 
I  looked  around  my  uncle  sat  there  on  the  ground,  with 
the  smoke  still  coming  from  his  gun.  He  signed  to  me 
to  come  to  him  and  sit  down,  and  when  I  had  done  so,  he 
said: 

"My  son,  you  keep  a  careless  watch.  You  do  not  act 
as  a  man  ought  to  do.  Instead  of  sitting  here  looking  over 
the  prairie  in  all  directions  to  see  if  enemies  are  ap 
proaching,  or  if  there  are  any  signs  of  strange  people  be 
ing  near,  you  lie  here  and  sleep.  I  crept  up  to  you  and 
fired  my  gun,  to  see  what  you  would  do.  You  did  not 
stop  to  see  where  the  noise  came  from,  nor  did  you  look 
about  to  see  if  enemies  were  here.  You  thought  only  of 
saving  your  body,  and  started  to  run  away.  This  is  not 
good.  A  warrior  does  not  act  like  this;  he  is  always 
watching  all  about  him,  to  see  what  is  going  to  happen, 

31 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

and  if  he  is  attacked  suddenly,  he  tries  to  fight,  or,  if  he 
cannot  fight,  he  thinks  more  of  giving  warning  to  the 
people  than  he  does  of  saving  himself." 

When  my  uncle  spoke  to  me  like  this  he  made  me  feel 
bad,  for  of  all  people  he  was  the  one  whom  I  most 
wished  to  please,  and  with  him  I  wished  to  stand  well.  I 
considered  a  little  before  I  said  to  him:  "I  was  trying  to 
run  to  my  horse,  and  if  I  had  got  him  I  think  I  should 
have  tried  to  reach  the  camp,  and  perhaps  I  should  have 
tried  to  drive  in  some  of  the  horses;  but  I  was  badly 
frightened,  for  I  had  been  asleep  and  did  not  know  what 
had  happened." 

"I  think  you  speak  truly,"  said  my  uncle,  "but  you 
should  not  have  gone  to  sleep  when  you  were  sent  out 
here  to  watch  the  horses.  Boys  who  go  to  sleep  when  they 
ought  to  be  looking  over  the  country,  and  watching  their 
horses,  or  men  who  get  tired  and  go  to  sleep  when  they 
are  on  the  warpath,  never  do  much.  I  should  like  to  have 
you  always  alert  and  watchful." 

I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  hold  fast  to  the 
words  which  my  uncle  spoke  to  me,  and  after  this  would 
not  sleep  when  I  was  on  herd. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  my  uncle  again  told 
me  to  get  my  arrows,  and  come  and  hunt  with  him.  He 
told  me  also  to  take  my  robe  with  me,  and  that  we  would 
go  far  up  the  river  and  be  gone  one  night.  I  was  glad  to 
go,  and  we  started. 

All  through  the  day  we  traveled  up  stream,  going 
in  low  places,  and  traveling  cautiously;  for,  although  we 

32 


Lessons  of  the  Prairie. 

were  close  to  the  camp,  still  my  uncle  told  me  no  one 
could  be  sure  that  enemies  might  not  be  about,  and  that 
we  might  not  be  attacked  at  any  time ;  so  we  went  care 
fully.  If  we  had  to  cross  a  hill,  we  crept  up  to  the  top  of 
it,  and  lifted  our  heads  up  little  by  little,  and  looked  over 
all  the  country,  to  see  whether  people  were  in  sight;  or 
game ;  or  to  see  what  the  animals  might  be  doing. 

Once,  when  we  stopped  to  rest,  my  uncle  said  to  me : 
"Little  son,  this  is  one  of  the  things  you  must  learn;  as 
you  travel  over  the  country,  always  go  carefully,  for  you 
do  not  know  that  behind  the  next  hill  there  may  not  be 
some  enemy  watching,  looking  over  the  country  to  see  if 
someone  may  not  be  about.  Therefore,  it  is  well  for  you 
always  to  keep  out  of  sight  as  much  as  you  can.  If  you 
have  to  go  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  because  you  wish  to  see 
the  country,  creep  carefully  up  some  ravine,  and  show 
yourself  as  little  as  possible.  If  you  have  to  cross  a  wide 
flat,  cover  yourself  with  your  robe,  and  stoop  over,  walk 
ing  slowly,  so  that  anyone  far  off  may  perhaps  think  it  is 
a  buffalo  that  he  sees.  In  this  respect  the  Indians  are 
different  from  the  white  people;  they  are  foolish,  and 
when  they  travel  they  go  on  the  ridges  between  the 
streams,  because  the  road  is  level,  and  the  going  easy.  But 
when  they  travel  in  this  way  everyone  can  see  them  from 
a  long  way  off,  and  can  hide  in  the  path,  and  when  they 
approach  can  shoot  at  them  and  kill  them.  The  white 
people  think  that  because  they  cannot  see  Indians,  there 
are  none  about;  and  this  belief  has  caused  many  white 
people  to  be  killed." 

33 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

As  I  walked  behind  my  uncle,  following  him  over  the 
prairie,  I  tried  to  watch  him,  and  to  imitate  everything 
that  he  did.  If  he  stopped,  I  stopped;  if  he  bent  down 
his  head,  and  went  stooping  for  a  little  way,  I  also 
stooped,  and  followed  him;  when  he  got  down  to  creep, 
I,  too,  crept,  so  as  to  be  out  of  sight. 

That  day,  as  the  sun  fell  toward  the  west,  my  uncle 
went  down  to  the  river,  and  looked  along  the  bank  and 
the  mud-bars,  trying  to  learn  whether  any  animals  had 
been  to  the  water;  and  when  he  saw  tracks  he  pointed 
them  out  to  me.  "This,"  he  said,  "is  the  track  of  a  deer. 
You  see  that  it  has  been  going  slowly.  It  is  feeding,  be 
cause  it  does  not  go  straight  ahead,  but  goes  now  in  one 
direction,  and  then  in  another,  and  back  a  little,  not 
seeming  to  have  any  purpose  in  its  wandering  about,  and 
here,"  showing  me  a  place  where  a  plant  had  been  bitten 
off,  "is  where  it  was  eating.  If  we  follow  along,  soon  we 
will  see  its  tracks  in  the  mud  by  the  river."  It  was  as  he 
had  said,  and  soon,  in  a  little  sand-bar,  we  saw  the  place 
where  the  animal  had  stopped.  "You  see,"  he  said,  "this 
was  a  big  deer;  here  are  his  tracks;  here  he  stopped  at 
the  edge  of  the  water  to  drink;  and  then  he  went  on 
across  the  river,  for  there  are  no  tracks  leading  back  to 
the  bank.  You  will  notice  that  he  was  walking;  he  was 
not  frightened;  he  did  not  see  nor  smell  any  enemies." 

Further  up  the  river,  on  a  sand-bar,  he  showed  me  the 
tracks  of  antelope,  where  the  old  ones  had  walked  along 
quietly,  and  other  smaller  tracks,  where  the  sand  had 

34 


Lessons  of  the  Prairie. 

been  thrown  up;  and  these  marks,  he  said,  were  made 
by  the  little  kids,  which  were  playing  and  running. 

"Notice  carefully,"  he  said,  "the  tracks  that  you  see, 
so  that  you  will  remember  them,  and  will  know  them 
again.  The  tracks  made  by  the  different  animals  are  not 
all  alike.  The  antelope's  hoof  is  sharp-pointed  in  front. 
Notice,  too,  that  when  his  foot  sinks  in  the  mud  there  is 
no  mark  behind  his  footprint;  while  behind  the  foot 
print  of  a  deer  there  are  two  marks,  in  soft  ground, 
made  by  the  little  hoofs  that  the  deer  has  on  his  foot." 

We  kept  on  further  up  the  river,  and  when  night 
came  we  stopped,  and  sat  down  in  some  bushes.  All  day 
long  we  had  seen  nothing  that  we  could  kill ;  but  from  a 
fold  in  his  robe  my  uncle  drew  some  dried  meat,  and  we 
built  a  little  fire  of  dried  willow  brush,  that  would  make 
no  smoke,  and  over  this  we  roasted  our  meat,  and  ate; 
and  my  uncle  talked  to  me  again,  saying:  "My  son,  I 
like  to  have  you  come  out  with  me,  and  travel  about  over 
the  country.  You  have  no  father  to  teach  you,  and  I  am 
glad  to  take  you  with  me,  and  to  tell  you  the  things  that 
I  know.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  a  member  of  our  tribe, 
and  it  is  a  good  thing  to  belong  to  a  good  family  in  that 
tribe.  You  must  always  remember  that  you  come  of 
good  people.  Your  father  was  a  brave  man,  killed  fight 
ing  bravely  against  the  enemy.  I  want  you  to  grow  up  to 
be  a  brave  man  and  a  good  man.  You  must  love  your  re 
lations,  and  must  do  everything  that  you  can  for  them.  If 
the  enemy  should  attack  the  village,  do  not  run  away; 
think  always  first  of  defending  your  own  people.  You 

35 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

have  a  mother,  and  sisters,  who  will  depend  on  you  for 
their  living1,  and  for  their  credit.  They  love  you,  and  you 
must  always  try  to  do  everything  that  you  can  for  them. 
Try  to  learn  about  hunting,  and  to  become  a  good 
hunter,  so  that  you  may  support  them.  But,  above  all 
things,  try  to  live  bravely  and  well,  so  that  people  will 
speak  well  of  you  and  your  relations  will  be  proud. 

"You  are  only  a  boy  now,  but  the  time  will  come  when 
you  will  be  a  man,  and  must  act  a  man's  part.  Now  your 
relations  all  respect  you.  They  do  not  ask  you  to  do 
woman's  work;  they  treat  you  well.  You  have  a  good 
bed,  and  whenever  you  are  hungry,  food  is  given  you. 
Do  you  know  why  it  is  that  you  are  treated  in  this  way? 
I  will  tell  you.  Your  relations  know  that  you  are  a  man, 
and  that  you  will  grow  up  to  go  to  war,  and  fight ;  per 
haps  often  to  be  in  great  danger.  They  know  that  per 
haps  they  may  not  have  you  long  with  them;  that  soon 
you  may  be  killed.  Perhaps  even  to-night  or  to-morrow, 
before  we  get  back  to  the  camp,  we  may  be  attacked,  and 
may  have  to  fight,  and  perhaps  to  die.  It  is  for  this  cause 
that  you  are  treated  better  than  your  sisters ;  because  at 
any  moment  you  may  be  taken  away.  This  you  should 
understand." 

After  we  had  eaten  it  began  to  grow  dark,  and  pretty 
soon  my  uncle  stood  up  and  tied  up  his  waist  again,  and 
we  set  out  once  more,  going  up  the  river.  I  wanted  to 
ask  my  uncle  where  we  were  going,  but  I  knew  that  he 
had  some  reason  for  moving  away  from  the  camp,  and 
before  I  had  spoken  to  him  about  it  we  had  gone  a  mile 

36 


Lessons  of  the  Prairie. 

or  two,  and  it  was  quite  dark,  and  we  stopped  again  in 
another  clump  of  bushes.  Here  we  sat  down,  and  my 
uncle  said  to  me:  "My  son,  here  we  will  sleep.  Where  we 
stopped  and  ate,  just  before  the  sun  set,  was  a  good 
place  to  camp,  but  it  may  be  that  an  enemy  was  watch 
ing  from  the  top  of  some  hill,  and  may  have  seen  us  go 
into  those  bushes.  If  he  did,  perhaps  he  will  creep  down 
there  to-night,  hoping  to  kill  us ;  and  if  there  were  sev 
eral  persons  they  may  go  down  there  and  surround  those 
bushes.  I  did  not  want  to  stop  there  where  we  might  have 
been  seen,  and  so  when  it  grew  dark  we  came  on  here. 
We  will  sleep  here,  but  will  build  no  fire." 

The  next  morning,  before  day  broke,  my  uncle  roused 
me,  and  we  went  to  the  top  of  a  high  hill  not  far  off.  We 
reached  it  before  the  sun  rose,  and  lay  on  top  of  it,  look 
ing  off  over  the  prairie.  From  here  we  could  see  a  long 
way.  Many  animals  were  in  view,  buffalo  and  antelope, 
and  down  in  the  river  bottom  a  herd  of  elk.  For  a  long 
time  we  lay  there  watching,  but  everywhere  it  was  quiet. 
The  animals  were  not  moving;  no  smokes  were  seen  in 
the  air ;  birds  were  not  flying  to  and  fro,  as  if  waiting  for 
the  hunter  to  kill  a  buffalo,  or  for  people  to  fight  and 
kill  each  other,  when  they  might  feed  on  the  flesh. 

After  we  had  watched  a  long  time,  my  uncle  said:  "I 
see  no  signs  of  people.  Let  us  creep  down  this  ravine,  and 
get  among  the  bushes,  and  perhaps  we  can  kill  one  of 
these  elk."  We  did  as  he  had  said;  and  before  very  long 
had  come  near  to  the  elk.  Then  he  told  me  to  wait  there.  I 
stopped  and  for  a  few  moments  I  could  see  him  creeping 

37 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

up  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  elk.  Presently  they  started 
and  ran ;  and  one  cow  turned  off  to  cross  the  river,  and  as 
she  was  crossing  it  she  fell  in  the  water. 

My  uncle  stood  up  and  motioned  to  me  to  go  down  to 
where  the  elk  lay.  We  met  there  and  cut  up  the  elk,  and 
my  uncle  took  a  big  load  of  meat  on  his  back,  and  I  a 
smaller  load,  and  we  started  back  toward  the  village. 

As  we  were  returning,  he  spoke  to  me  again,  saying: 
"I  want  you  to  remember  that  of  all  the  advice  I  give  you 
the  chief  thing  is  to  be  brave.  If  you  start  out  with  a  war 
party,  to  attack  enemies,  do  not  be  afraid.  If  your  friends 
are  about  to  make  a  charge  on  the  enemy,  still  do  not  be 
afraid.  Watch  your  friends,  and  see  how  they  act,  and 
try  to  do  as  the  others  do.  Try  always  to  have  a  good 
horse,  and  to  be  in  the  front  of  the  fighting.  To  be  brave 
is  what  makes  a  man.  If  you  are  lucky,  and  count  a  coup, 
or  kill  an  enemy,  people  will  look  on  you  as  a  man.  Do 
not  fear  anything.  To  be  killed  in  battle  is  no  disgrace. 
When  you  fight,  try  to  kill.  Ride  up  close  to  your  en 
emy.  Do  not  think  that  he  is  going  to  kill  you ;  think  that 
you  are  going  to  kill  him.  As  you  charge,  you  must  be 
saying  to  yourself  all  the  time,  'I  will  be  brave;  I  will 
not  fear  anything.' 

"In  your  life  in  the  camp  remember  this  too;  you 
must  always  be  truthful  and  honest  with  all  your  people. 
Never  say  anything  that  is  not  true ;  never  tell  a  lie,  even 
for  a  joke — to  make  people  laugh.  When  you  are  in  the 
company  of  older  people,  listen  to  what  they  say,  and  try 
to  remember ;  thus  you  will  learn.  Do  not  say  very  much ; 

38 


Lessons  of  the  Prairie. 

it  is  just  as  well  to  let  other  people  talk  while  you  listen. 
If  you  have  a  friend,  cling  close  to  him ;  and  if  need  be, 
give  your  life  for  him.  Think  always  of  your  friend  be 
fore  you  think  of  yourself." 

That  night  we  reached  the  camp  again.  My  uncle  left 
the  meat  that  he  had  killed  at  my  mother's  lodge. 


39 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 


I  HAD  lived  twelve  winters  when  I  did  something  which 
made  my  mother  and  all  my  relations  glad;  for  which 
they  all  praised  me,  and  which  first  caused  my  name  to 
be  called  aloud  through  the  camp. 

It  was  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  leaves  were  drop 
ping  from  the  trees.  Long  ago  the  grass  had  grown  yel 
low  ;  and  now  sometimes  when  we  awoke  in  the  morning 
it  was  white  with  frost ;  little  places  in  the  river  bottom, 
where  water  had  stood  in  the  springtime,  and  which  were 
still  wet,  were  frozen  in  the  morning;  and  all  the  quiet 
waters  had  over  them  a  thin  skin  of  clear  ice.  Great 
flocks  of  water  birds  were  passing  overhead,  flying  to  the 
south ;  and  many  of  them  stopped  in  the  streams,  resting 
and  feeding.  There  were  ducks  of  many  sorts,  and  the 
larger  geese,  and  the  great  white  birds  with  black  tips  to 
their  wings,  and  long  yellow  bills;  and  the  cranes  that 
fly  over,  far  up  in  the  sky,  looking  like  spots,  but  whose 
loud  callings  are  heard  plainly  as  they  pass  along.  Often 
we  saw  flocks  of  these  walking  on  the  prairie,  feeding  on 
the  grasshoppers ;  and  sometimes  they  all  stopped  feed 
ing  and  stuck  up  their  heads,  and  then  began  to  dance 
together,  almost  as  people  dance. 

We  boys  used  to  travel  far  up  and  down  the  bottom, 
trying  to  creep  up  to  the  edge  of  the  bank,  or  to  the  pud 
dles  of  water,  where  the  different  birds  sat,  to  get  close 

41 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

enough  to  kill  them  with  our  arrows.  It  was  not  easy  to 
do  this,  for  generally  the  birds  saw  us  before  we  could 
get  near  enough;  and  then,  often,  even  if  we  had  the 
chance  to  shoot,  we  missed,  and  the  birds  flew  away,  and 
we  had  to  wade  out  and  get  back  our  arrows. 

One  day  I  had  gone  with  my  friend  a  long  way  up  the 
river,  and  wre  had  tried  several  times  to  kill  ducks,  but 
had  always  missed  them.  We  had  come  to  a  place  where 
the  point  of  a  hill  ran  down  close  to  the  river,  on  our  side, 
and  as  we  rounded  the  point  of  this  hill,  suddenly  we  saw 
close  before  us  three  cranes,  standing  on  the  hillside ;  two 
of  them  were  gray  and  further  off,  but  one  quite  near  to 
us  was  still  red,  by  which  we  knew  that  it  was  a  young 
one.  I  was  ahead  of  my  friend,  and  as  soon  as  I  saw  the 
cranes  I  drew  my  arrow  to  its  head,  and  shot  at  the  young 
one,  which  spread  its  wings  and  flew  a  few  yards,  and 
then  came  down,  lying  on  the  hillside,  with  its  wings 
stretched  wide,  for  the  arrow  had  passed  through  its 
body.  I  rushed  upon  it  and  seized  it,  while  the  old  cranes 
flew  away.  Then  I  was  glad,  for  this  was  the  largest  bird 
that  I  had  ever  killed ;  and  you  know  that  the  crane  is  a 
wise  bird,  and  people  do  not  often  kill  one. 

After  my  friend  and  I  had  talked  about  it,  I  picked 
up  the  bird  and  put  it  on  my  back,  holding  the  neck  in 
one  hand,  and  letting  the  legs  drag  on  the  ground  behind 
me;  and  so  we  returned  to  camp.  When  we  reached  the 
village  some  of  the  children  saw  us  coming,  and  knew  me, 
and  ran  ahead  to  my  mother's  lodge,  and  told  her  that  her 
boy  was  coming,  carrying  a  great  bird ;  and  she  and  my 

42 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 

sisters  came  out  of  the  lodge  and  looked  at  me.  I  must 
have  looked  strange,  for  the  crane's  wings  were  partly 
spread,  and  hung  down  on  either  side  of  me ;  and  when  I 
had  nearly  come  to  the  lodge,  my  mother  called  out: 
"What  is  the  great  bird  that  is  coming  to  our  lodge?  I 
am  afraid  of  it,"  and  then  she  and  the  children  ran  in 
the  door.  Then  they  came  out  again,  and  when  I  reached 
the  lodge,  all  looked  at  the  bird,  and  said  how  big  it  was, 
and  how  fine,  and  that  it  must  be  shown  to  my  uncle  be 
fore  it  was  cooked.  They  sent  word  to  him,  asking  him  to 
come  to  the  lodge,  and  soon  he  did  so,  and  when  he  saw 
what  I  had  killed,  he  was  glad,  and  told  me  that  I  had 
done  well,  and  that  I  was  lucky  to  have  killed  a  crane. 
"There  are  many  grown  men,"  said  he,  "who  have  never 
killed  a  crane;  and  you  have  done  well.  I  wish  to  have 
this  known." 

He  called  out  in  a  loud  voice,  and  asked  Bellowing 
Cow,  a  poor  old  woman,  to  come  to  the  lodge  and  see 
what  his  son  had  done ;  and  he  sent  one  of  the  boys  back 
to  his  lodge,  telling  him  to  bring  a  certain  horse.  Soon 
the  boy  returned,  leading  a  pony;  and  when  Bellowing 
Cow  had  come,  my  uncle  handed  her  the  rope  that  was 
about  the  pony's  neck,  and  told  her  to  look  at  this  bird 
that  his  son  had  killed. 

"We  have  had  good  luck,"  he  said;  "my  son  has  killed 
this  wise  bird ;  he  is  going  to  be  a  good  hunter,  and  will 
kill  much  meat.  In  the  time  to  come,  after  he  has  grown 
to  be  a  man,  his  lodge  will  never  lack  food.  His  women 
will  always  have  plenty  of  robes  to  dress." 

43 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

Then  Bellowing  Cow  mounted  her  horse  and  rode 
around  the  village,  singing  a  song,  in  which  she  told  how 
lucky  I  had  been;  that  I  had  killed  a  crane,  a  bird  that 
many  grown  men  had  not  killed ;  and  that  I  was  going  to 
be  a  good  hunter,  and  always  fortunate  in  killing  food. 
My  uncle  did  not  give  the  bird  to  Bellowing  Cow;  he 
kept  it,  and  told  my  mother  to  cook  it;  and  he  said  to 
her:  "Save  for  me  the  wing  bones  of  this  bird,  and  give 
them  to  me,  in  order  that  I  may  make  from  them  two 
war  whistles,  which  my  son  may  carry  when  he  has 
grown  old  enough  to  go  to  war  against  his  enemies." 

I  was  proud  of  what  had  happened,  and  it  made  me 
feel  big  to  listen  to  this  poor  old  woman  as  she  rode 
through  the  village  singing  her  song. 

What  he  did  at  this  time  showed  some  things  about 
my  uncle.  It  showed  that  he  liked  me ;  it  showed  that  he 
was  proud  of  what  I  had  done ;  and  it  showed,  too,  that 
he  was  a  person  of  good  heart,  since  he  called  to  see  what 
I  had  done  a  poor  old  woman  who  had  nothing,  and  gave 
her  a  horse.  It  would  have  been  as  easy  for  him  to  have 
called  some  chief  or  rich  man  who  had  plenty  of  horses, 
and  then  sometime  this  chief  or  rich  man  would  have 
given  him  a  horse  for  some  favor  done  him. 

I  had  killed  the  crane  with  a  pointed  arrow,  of  which 
I  had  three,  though  in  my  hunting  for  little  birds  I  still 
used  blunt  arrows.  My  uncle  had  made  me  another  bow, 
which  was  almost  as  large  as  a  man's  bow;  and  I  was 
practicing  with  it  always,  trying  to  make  my  right  arm 

44 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 

strong,  to  bend  it,  so  that  it  might  send  the  arrow  with 
full  force. 

The  next  summer,  when  the  tribe  had  started  off  to 
look  for  buffalo,  I  spoke  one  night  to  my  uncle,  as  he  was 
sitting  alone  in  his  lodge,  and  said  to  him:  "Father,  is  it 
not  now  time  for  me  to  try  to  kill  buffalo  ?  I  am  getting 
now  to  be  a  big  boy,  and  I  think  big  enough  to  hunt.  I 
should  like  to  have  your  opinion  about  this."  For  a  time 
he  sat  smoking  and  considering,  and  then  he  said:  "Son, 
I  think  it  is  time  you  should  begin  to  hunt ;  you  are  now 
old  enough  to  do  some  of  the  things  that  men  do.  I 
have  watched  you,  and  I  have  seen  that  you  know  how  to 
use  the  bow.  The  next  time  that  we  run  buffalo,  you  shall 
come  with  me,  and  we  will  see  what  we  can  do.  You  shall 
ride  one  of  my  buffalo  horses,  and  you  shall  overtake  the 
buffalo,  and  then  we  shall  see  whether  you  are  strong 
enough  to  drive  the  arrow  far  into  the  animal." 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  buffalo  were  found, 
and  when  the  tribe  went  out  to  make  the  surround,  my 
uncle  told  me  to  ride  one  of  his  horses,  and  to  keep  close 
to  him.  As  we  were  going  toward  the  place  where  the 
surround  was  to  be  made,  he  said  to  me:  "Now,  to-day 
we  will  try  to  catch  calves,  and  you  shall  see  whether  you 
can  kill  one.  You  may  remember  this,  that  if  you  shoot  an 
arrow  into  the  calf,  and  blood  begins  to  come  from  its 
mouth,  it  will  soon  die,  you  need  not  shoot  at  it  again, 
but  may  go  on  to  overtake  another,  and  kill  it.  Then, 
perhaps,  after  a  little  while  you  can  chase  big  buffalo. 
One  thing  you  must  remember.  If  you  are  running 

45 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

buffalo,  do  not  be  afraid  of  them.  Ride  your  horse  close 
up  to  the  buffalo,  as  close  as  you  can,  and  then  let  fly  the 
arrow  with  all  your  force.  If  the  buffalo  turns  to  fight, 
your  horse  will  take  you  away  from  it;  but,  above  all 
things,  do  not  be  afraid ;  you  will  not  kill  buffalo  if  you 
are  afraid  to  get  close  to  them." 

We  rode  on,  and  before  the  surround  was  made  we 
could  see  the  yellow  calves  bunched  up  at  one  side  of  the 
herd.  My  uncle  pointed  them  out  to  me,  and  said,  "Now, 
when  the  herd  starts,  try  to  get  among  those  calves,  and 
remember  all  that  I  have  told  you." 

At  length  the  soldiers  gave  the  word  for  the  charge, 
and  we  all  rushed  toward  the  buffalo.  They  turned  to 
run,  and  a  great  dust  rose  in  the  air.  That  day  there  were 
many  men  on  fast  horses,  but  my  uncle's  horse  was 
faster  than  all ;  and  because  I  was  little  and  light,  he  ran 
through  the  big  buffalo,  and  was  soon  close  to  the  calves. 
When  he  was  running  through  the  buffalo  I  was  fright 
ened,  for  they  seemed  so  big,  and  they  crowded  so  on 
each  other,  and  their  horns  rattled  as  they  knocked  to 
gether,  as  the  herd  parted  and  pushed  away  on  either 
side,  letting  me  pass  through  it. 

In  only  a  short  time  I  was  running  close  to  a  yellow 
calf.  It  ran  very  fast,  and  for  a  little  while  I  could  not 
overtake  it ;  but  then  it  seemed  to  go  slower,  and  my  horse 
drew  up  close  to  it.  I  shot  an  arrow  and  missed  it,  and 
.  then  another,  and  did  not  miss ;  the  arrow  went  deep  into 
it,  just  before  the  short  ribs,  and  a  moment  afterward  I 
could  see  blood  coming  from  the  calf's  mouth ;  and  I  ran 

46 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 

on  to  get  another.  I  did  kill  another,  and  then  stopped 
and  got  down.  The  herd  had  passed,  and  I  began  to 
butcher  the  last  calf ;  and  before  I  had  finished  my  uncle 
rode  up  to  me  and  said,  "Well,  son,  did  you  kill  any 
thing?"  I  told  him  that  I  had  killed  two  calves;  and  we 
went  back  and  looked  for  the  other.  He  helped  me  to 
butcher,  and  we  put  the  meat  and  skins  of  both  calves  on 
my  horse  and  then  returned  to  the  camp. 

When  we  reached  there,  my  uncle  stood  in  front  of  the 
lodge,  and  called  out  with  a  loud  voice,  saying:  "This 
day  my  son  has  chased  buffalo,  and  has  killed  two  calves. 
I  have  given  one  of  my  best  horses  to  Red  Fox."  This 
he  called  out  several  times,  and  at  the  same  time  he  sent 
a  young  man  to  his  lodge,  telling  him  to  bring  a  certain 
good  horse,  which  he  named.  Before  very  long  the  young 
man  came  with  the  horse,  and  about  the  same  time  the 
old  man  Red  Fox,  who  was  poor  and  lame,  and  without 
relations,  was  seen  limping  toward  the  lodge,  coughing 
as  he  came. 

In  his  young  days  Red  Fox  had  been  a  brave  and  had 
done  many  good  things,  but  he  had  been  shot  in  the  thigh, 
in  battle,  and  his  leg  had  never  healed,  so  that  he  could 
not  go  to  war.  After  that,  his  wife  and  then  his  children 
one  by  one  had  died,  or  been  killed  in  battle,  and  now  he 
had  nothing  of  his  own,  but  lived  in  the  lodge  with 
friends — people  who  were  kind  to  him.  After  Red  Fox 
had  mounted  his  horse,  and  had  ridden  off  about  the  cir 
cle  of  the  lodges,  singing  a  song,  in  which  he  told  what  I 
had  done,  and  how  my  uncle  was  proud  of  my  success, 

47 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

and  of  how  good  his  heart  was  toward  poor  people,  so 
that  when  he  made  gifts  he  gave  them  to  persons  who 
had  nothing,  and  not  to  people  who  were  rich  and  happy, 
my  uncle  turned  about  and  went  into  the  lodge.  He  told 
the  young  man  who  had  brought  the  horse  to  go  out 
and  call  a  number  of  his  friends,  and  older  people,  to 
come  that  night  to  his  lodge,  to  feast  with  him. 

After  they  had  come,  and  all  had  eaten,  and  while  the 
pipe  was  being  smoked,  my  uncle  said:  "Friends,  I  have 
called  you  to  eat  with  me,  because  this  day  my  son  has 
killed  two  calves.  He  has  done  well,  and  I  can  see  that 
he  will  be  a  good  man.  His  lodge  will  not  be  poor  for 
meat  nor  will  his  wife  lack  skins  to  tan,  or  hides  for  lodge 
skins.  We  have  had  good  luck,  and  to-day  my  heart  is 
glad;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  asked  you  to 
come  and  hear  what  my  son  has  done,  in  order  that  you 
may  be  pleased,  as  I  am  pleased." 

When  he  had  finished  speaking,  Double  Runner,  an 
old  man,  whose  hair  was  white,  stood  up  on  his  feet  and 
spoke,  and  said  that  I  had  done  well.  He  spoke  good 
words  of  my  uncle  because  he  had  a  kind  heart  and  was 
generous,  and  liked  to  make  people  happy.  He  spoke 
also  of  my  father,  and  said  that  it  was  bad  for  the  tribe 
when  the  enemy  killed  him;  but,  nevertheless,  he  had 
died  fighting,  as  a  brave  man  would  wish  to  die. 

From  that  time  on,  so  long  as  the  buffalo  were  seen, 
I  went  out  with  the  men  of  the  camp.  Sometimes  I  went 
alone,  or  with  companions  of  my  own  age,  and  we  tried  to 
kill  calves,  but  more  than  once  I  went  with  my  uncle. 

48 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 

The  second  time  I  rode  with  him  he  said  to  me  that  I  had 
killed  calves,  and  now  I  must  try  to  kill  big  buffalo.  I 
remembered  what  he  had  said  about  riding  close  to  the 
buffalo,  but  I  was  afraid  to  do  this,  and  yet  I  was 
ashamed  to  tell  him  that  I  was  afraid.  When  the  sur 
round  was  made,  my  uncle  and  I  were  soon  among  the 
buffalo/I  was  riding  my  uncle's  fast  buffalo  horse.  My 
uncle  rode  on  my  right  hand,  and  when  we  charged  down 
and  got  among  the  buffalo  we  soon  passed  through  the 
bulls  and  then  drew  up  slowly  on  the  cows,  and  those 
younger  animals  whose  horns  were  yet  straight.  I 
thought  we  were  going  to  pass  on  through  these,  and 
kill  calves,  but  suddenly  my  uncle  crowded  his  horse  up 
close  to  me,  and,  pointing  to  a  young  bull,  signed  to  me 
to  shoot  it.  I  did  not  want  to,  but  my  uncle  kept  crowding 
his  horse  more  and  more  on  me,  and  pushing  me  close 
to  the  bull.  I  was  afraid  of  it ;  I  thought  that  perhaps  it 
would  turn  its  head  toward  me  and  frighten  my  horse, 
and  my  horse  could  not  get  away  because  of  my  uncle's 
horse,  and  then  my  horse,  and  perhaps  I,  myself,  would 
be  killed ;  but  there  was  not  much  time  to  think  about  it. 
I  felt  that  I  was  not  strong  enough  to  kill  a  buffalo;  I 
did  not  want  to  try ;  but  all  the  time  my  uncle  was  sign 
ing  to  me,  "Shoot,  shoot."  There  was  no  way  for  me  to 
escape,  and  I  drew  the  arrow  and  shot  into  the  buffalo. 
The  point  hit  the  animal  between  the  ribs,  and  went  in 
deep,  yet  not  to  the  feathers.  When  I  shot,  my  uncle 
sheered  off,  and  I  followed  him ;  and  in  a  moment,  look 
ing  back,  I  saw  that  the  blood  was  coming  from  the  bull's 

49 


When  Buffalo  Kan. 

nose  and  mouth;  and  then  I  knew  that  I  had  killed  it.  In 
a  few  moments  it  fell,  and  I  went  back  to  it.  Then  truly 
I  thought  that  I  had  done  something  great,  and  I  felt 
glad  that  I  had  killed  a  big  buffalo.  I  forgot  that  a  little 
while  before  I  had  been  frightened,  and  had  wanted  to 
get  away  without  shooting.  I  forgot  that,  except  for  my 
uncle,  I  should  not  have  made  this  lucky  shot.  I  felt  as 
if  I  had  done  something,  and  something  that  was  very 
smart  and  great.  You  see,  I  was  only  a  boy. 

This  feeling  did  not  last  very  long;  after  a  little  I  re 
membered  that  except  for  my  uncle  I  should  have  still 
been  afraid  of  big  buffalo,  and  should  not  have  dared  to 
go  near  enough  to  kill  one,  but  should  have  been  content 
to  kill  calves.  My  mind  was  still  big  for  what  I  had  done, 
and  I  felt  thankful  to  my  uncle  for  making  me  do  it.  I 
wanted  to  pass  my  hands  over  him — to  express  my  grati 
tude  to  him — for  all  his  kindness  to  me.  No  father  could 
have  done  more  for  me  than  he  had  done,  and  always  did. 

That  night  when  we  came  back  to  the  camp  my  horse 
was  carrying  a  great  pile  of  meat ;  and  when  I  stopped 
in  front  of  the  lodge,  I  called  out  to  my  mother  to  come 
and  take  my  horse,  and  take  the  meat  from  it ;  for  so  my 
uncle  had  told  me  to  do.  "Now,"  he  said,  "y°u  have  be 
come  a  man;  you  are  able  to  hunt,  and  to  kill  food,  and 
you  must  act  as  a  man  acts." 

When  my  mother  came  out  of  the  lodge  she  was  as 
tonished  ;  she  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  I  who  had 
killed  this  buffalo.  Nevertheless,  she  took  the  rope  from 
me,  and  began  to  take  the  meat  from  the  horse;  and  I 

50 


On  a  Buffalo  Horse. 

went  into  the  lodge  and  lay  down  on  the  bed  by  the  fire 
to  rest,  for  this  too  was  what  my  uncle  had  told  me  to  do. 
The  next  time  the  camp  made  a  surround,  I  rode 
alone,  and  this  time  I  did  not  do  so  well.  It  is  true  that  I 
killed  a  cow,  but  also  I  shot  another  animal,  which  carried 
away  three  of  my  arrows.  It  was  afterward  killed  by  a 
man  a  long  way  off,  and  the  next  day  he  gave  me  back 
my  arrows,  which  he  had  taken  from  the  cow.  I  felt 
ashamed  of  this,  but,  nevertheless,  I  kept  on,  and  before 
the  hunt  was  over  I  killed  many  buffalo,  and  my  mother 
dressed  the  hides. 


51 


In  the  Medicine  Circle. 


SOON  after  I  had  killed  my  big  buffalo,  my  uncle  had 
sent  for  me  and  when  I  had  gone  to  his  lodge,  he  said, 
"Come  with  me" ;  and  we  walked  out  on  the  prairie  where 
his  horses  were  feeding.  He  carried  a  rope  in  his  hand, 
and,  throwing  it  over  the  fast  buffalo  horse,  that  he  had 
told  me  to  ride  when  I  first  hunted  buffalo,  he  put  the 
rope  in  my  hand,  and  said:  "Son,  I  give  you  this  horse; 
he  is  fast,  and  he  is  long-winded.  You  have  seen  that  he 
can  overtake  buffalo.  I  tell  you  now  that  he  is  a  good 
horse  for  war.  If  you  ride  him  when  you  go  on  the  war 
path,  you  can  get  up  close  to  your  enemy,  and  strike  him ; 
he  will  not  be  able  to  run  away  from  you." 

This  was  the  first  horse  I  had,  and  I  was  proud  to 
own  it.  Also,  later,  my  uncle  said  to  me,  "My  son,  if  you 
need  horses  for  riding,  catch  some  of  those  out  of  my 
band,  and  use  them."  This  I  did,  sometimes.  My  uncle 
had  plenty  of  horses,  and  was  always  going  to  war  and 
getting  more. 

I  was  now  a  big  boy,  and  began  to  think  more  and 
more  about  going  to  war.  Ever  since  I  had  been  little  I 
had  talked  with  my  companions,  and  they  with  me,  about 
the  time  when  we  should  be  big  enough  to  do  the  things 
that  our  fathers  and  uncles  did;  and  the  thing  that  we 
most  wished  to  do  was  to  go  to  war  against  the  enemy, 
and  to  do  something  brave,  so  that  we  should  be  looked 

53 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

up  to  by  the  people.  As  we  grew  older  the  wish  to  do  this 
increased.  That  summer,  when  the  old  men  used  to  come 
out  of  their  lodges,  and  sit  in  the  sun,  smoking,  or  to 
gather  in  little  groups,  and  gossip  with  one  another,  I 
used  to  listen  to  their  talk  of  the  things  that  had  hap 
pened  in  past  years,  when  they  were  young.  They  told 
of  many  strange  things  that  had  happened;  of  war  jour 
neys  that  they  had  made  against  their  enemies,  of  fights 
that  they  had  had,  and  horses  that  they  had  taken.  They 
spoke,  too,  of  treaties  that  they  had  made  with  other 
tribes ;  and  told  how  they  had  visited  the  camps  of  peo 
ple  who  lived  far  off,  whose  names  I  had  heard,  but  of 
whom  I  knew  nothing. 

Sometimes,  too,  I  was  present  in  my  uncle's  lodge 
when  he  gave  a  feast  to  friends ;  and  often  among  them 
were  chiefs  and  older  men,  who  in  their  day  had  done 
great  things,  and  brought  credit  to  the  tribe.  At  such 
feasts,  after  all  had  eaten,  and  my  uncle  had  filled  the 
pipe,  and  pushed  the  tobacco  board  back  under  the  bed, 
he  gave  the  pipe  to  some  young  man,  who  lighted  it  and 
handed  it  back  to  him ;  and  then  he  smoked,  holding  the 
pipe  to  the  sky,  and  to  the  earth,  and  to  the  four  direc 
tions,  and  made  a  prayer  to  the  spirits,  and  then  passed 
the  pipe  along  to  the  end  of  the  circle  on  his  left;  and, 
beginning  there,  each  man  smoked  and  made  a  prayer, 
and  the  pipe  passed  from  hand  to  hand.  After  this  the 
guests  talked  and  joked,  and  laughed,  and  stories  were 
told,  perhaps  of  war  or  adventure,  perhaps  of  hard  times 
when  food  was  scarce  and  the  cold  bitter,  perhaps  of 

54 


In  the  Medicine  Circle. 

those  mysterious  persons  who  rule  the  world,  and  of  the 
kindly  or  the  terrible  things  that  they  have  done. 

I  remember  well  one  such  feast,  when  for  the  first 
time  my  uncle  told  me  to  sit  on  his  right  hand,  and  be 
hind  him ;  and  when  he  had  filled  it,  told  me  to  light  the 
pipe.  I  reached  over  to  the  fire,  and  with  a  tongs  made 
of  willow  took  up  a  small  coal  and  lighted  the  pipe,  and 
after  it  was  going  well,  passed  it  to  my  uncle.  And  so  I 
lighted  all  the  pipes  that  were  smoked  that  night.  It  was 
during  the  second  of  these  pipes  that  an  old  man,  Calf 
Robe,  told  a  story  of  a  thing  that  had  happened  in  the 
tribe  long  ago,  when  he  was  a  young  man.  He  was  a  little 
man,  thin  and  dried  up,  but  in  his  time  he  had  been  a 
great  warrior.  Now  he  was  old  and  poor,  his  left  arm 
thin,  withered  and  helpless,  and  on  his  side  a  great  scar, 
much  larger  than  my  two  hands,  where  people  said  his 
ribs  on  that  side  had  all  been  torn  away.  I  had  heard  of 
his  adventures,  how  once  the  animals  had  taken  pity  on 
him,  and  brought  him,  after  he  was  sorely  wounded  on  a 
war  journey,  safe  back  to  his  people  and  his  village.  It 
was  on  this  night  that  I  first  heard  the  story  of  the  Medi 
cine  Circle.  This  was  what  he  said : 

"It  was  winter.  The  people  were  camped  on  Lodgepole 
Creek  near  the  Big  Horn  Mountains.  Buffalo  were  close 
and  small  game  plenty.  The  snow  was  deep,  and  the  peo 
ple  did  not  watch  their  horses  closely,  for  they  thought 
no  war  parties  would  be  out  in  such  cold  and  in  such  deep 
snow. 

"The  chief  of  this  camp  had  strong  mysterious  power. 

55 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

On  the  ground  at  the  right  of  his  bed  in  his  lodge  was 
always  a  space,  where  red  painted  wooden  pegs  were  set 
in  the  ground  in  a  circle.  Above  this  hung  the  medicine 
bundles.  No  one  was  allowed  to  step  or  sit  in  this  circle. 
No  one  might  throw  anything  on  the  ground  near  it.  No 
one  might  pass  between  it  and  the  fire.  It  was  sacred. 

1  'It  was  a  very  cold  night.  The  wind  blew  the  snow 
about  so  that  one  could  hardly  see.  The  chief  had  gone  to 
a  feast  in  a  lodge  near  his  own,  and  his  wives  were  in  bed, 
but  one  of  them  was  still  awake.  The  fire  had  burned 
down,  and  the  lodge  was  almost  dark.  Suddenly  the  cur 
tain  of  the  doorway  was  thrown  back.  A  person  entered, 
passed  around  to  the  back  of  the  lodge,  and  sat  down  in 
the  medicine  circle. 

:  'Now  what  is  this?'  the  woman  thought;  'why  does 
this  person  sit  in  the  medicine  circle  ?' 

"She  said  to  him:  'You  know  that  is  the  medicine  cir 
cle.  Quick!  get  up,  and  sit  down  somewhere  else.  My 
husband  will  be  angry  if  he  sees  you  there.' 

"The  person  did  not  speak  nor  move,  so  the  woman 
got  up  and  put  grass  on  the  fire,  and  when  it  made  a  light, 
she  saw  that  the  man  was  a  stranger,  for  his  clothing  was 
different  from  ours;  but  she  could  not  see  his  face;  he 
kept  it  covered,  all  but  his  eyes.  The  woman  went  out  and 
ran  to  the  lodge  where  her  husband  was,  and  said  to  him : 
'Come  quickly!  A  stranger  has  entered  our  lodge.  He 
is  sitting  in  the  medicine  circle.' 

"The  chief  went  to  his  lodge,  and  many  with  him — for 
chiefs  and  warriors  had  been  feasting  together — and 

56 


In  the  Medicine  Circle. 

they  carried  in  more  wood  and  built  a  big  fire.  Then  the 
stranger  moved  toward  the  fire,  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
they  saw  he  was  shaking  with  cold.  His  moccasins  and 
leggings  were  torn  and  covered  with  ice,  and  his  robe 
was  thin  and  worn. 

"The  chief  was  greatly  troubled  to  see  this  person  sit 
ting  in  his  medicine  circle,  and  he  asked  him  in  signs, 
'Where  did  you  come  from?' 

"He  made  no  answer. 

"Again  he  asked,  'Who  are  you?' 

"The  stranger  did  not  speak.  He  sat  as  close  to  the 
fire  as  he  could  get,  still  shivering  with  cold. 

"The  chief  told  a  woman  to  feed  him;  and  she  warmed 
some  soup  and  meat  over  the  fire,  and  set  it  before  the 
stranger.  Then  he  threw  off  his  robe,  and  began  to  eat 
like  a  dog  that  is  starved;  and  all  the  people  sat  and 
looked  at  him.  He  was  a  young  man ;  his  face  was  good, 
and  his  hair  very  long;  but  he  looked  thin,  and  his 
clothes  were  poor. 

"The  stranger  ate  all  the  soup  and  meat,  and  then  he 
spoke,  in  signs:  'I  came  from  the  north.  I  was  with  a 
large  party.  We  traveled  south  many  days,  and  at  last 
saw  a  big  camp  by  a  river.  At  night  we  went  down  to  it, 
to  take  horses,  but  I  got  none,  and  my  party  rode  off 
and  left  me.  They  told  me  to  go  with  them  and  they 
would  give  me  some  of  the  horses  that  they  had  taken, 
but  I  was  ashamed.  I  had  taken  no  horses,  and  I  could 
not  go  back  to  my  people  without  counting  a  coup.  So  I 
came  on  alone,  and  it  is  now  many  days  since  I  left  my 

57 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

party.  I  had  used  up  all  my  arrows,  and  could  kill  no 
food.  I  began  to  starve.  To-day  I  saw  your  camp.  I 
thought  to  take  some  horses  from  you,  but  my  arrows 
are  gone ;  I  should  have  starved  on  the  road.  My  clothes 
are  thin  and  torn;  I  should  have  frozen.  So  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  come  to  your  camp  and  be  killed. 

"  'Come,  I  am  ready.  Kill  me!  I  am  a  Blackfoot.' 

"A  pipe  was  filled,  lighted,  and  passed  around.  But 
the  chief  sat  thinking.  Everyone  was  waiting  to  hear 
what  he  would  say. 

"At  last  he  spoke:  'An  enemy  has  come  into  our  camp. 
The  Blackfeet  are  our  enemies.  They  kill  us  when  they 
can.  We  kill  them.  This  man  came  here  to  steal  our 
horses,  and  he  ought  to  be  killed.  But,  you  see,  he  has 
come  into  my  lodge  and  sat  down  in  the  medicine  circle. 
Perhaps  his  medicine  led  him  to  the  place.  He  must  have 
a  powerful  helper. 

"  'There  are  many  lodges  in  this  camp,  and  in  each  of 
these  lodges  many  seats,  but  he  has  come  to  my  lodge, 
and  has  sat  down  in  my  medicine  circle.  I  believe  my 
medicine  helped  him  too.  So  now  I  am  afraid  to  kill  this 
man,  for  if  I  do,  it  may  break  my  medicine.  I  have  fin 
ished.' 

"Everyone  said  the  chief's  talk  was  good.  The  chief 
turned  to  the  Blackfoot  and  said:  'Do  not  be  afraid;  we 
will  not  kill  you.  You  are  tired.  Take  off  your  leggings 
and  moccasins,  and  lie  down  in  that  bed.' 

"The  Blackfoot  did  as  he  was  told,  and  as  soon  as  he 
lay  down  he  slept ;  for  he  was  very  tired. 

58 


In  the  Medicine  Circle. 

"Next  morning,  when  he  awoke,  there  by  his  bed  were 
new  leggings  for  him,  and  warm  hair  moccasins,  and  a 
new  soft  cow's  robe;  and  he  put  these  on,  and  his  heart 
was  glad.  Then  they  ate,  and  the  chief  told  him  about  the 
medicine  circle,  and  why  they  had  not  killed  him. 

"In  the  spring  a  party  of  our  people  went  to  war 
against  the  Crows  and  the  Blackfoot  went  with  them, 
and  he  took  many  horses.  He  went  to  war  often,  and  soon 
had  a  big  band  of  horses.  He  married  two  women  of  our 
tribe,  and  stayed  with  us.  Sometimes  they  used  to  ask 
him  if  he  would  ever  go  back  to  his  people,  and  he  would 
say :  'Wait,  I  want  to  get  more  horses,  and  when  I  have  a 
big  band — a  great  many — I  will  take  my  lodge,  and  my 
women  and  children,  and  we  will  go  north,  and  I  will 
make  peace  between  your  tribe  and  the  Blackfeet.' 

"One  summer  the  people  were  running  buffalo.  They 
were  making  new  lodges.  One  day  the  men  went  out  to 
hunt.  At  sundown  they  came  back,  but  the  Blackfoot 
did  not  return.  Next  day  the  men  went  out  to  look  for 
him,  and  they  searched  all  over  the  country.  Many  days 
they  hunted  for  the  Blackfoot,  but  he  was  never  seen 
again.  Some  said  he  had  gone  back  to  his  people.  Some 
said  that  a  bear  might  have  killed  him,  or  he  might  have 
fallen  from  his  horse  and  been  killed,  and  some  said  that 
a  war  party  must  have  killed  him  and  taken  the  horse 
with  them.  Neither  man  nor  horse  was  seen  again." 


59 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 


IT  was  late  in  the  winter,  when  I  was  fifteen  years  old, 
that  I  made  my  first  trip  to  war.  We  were  camped  on  a 
large  river,  and  not  far  from  our  camp  was  a  village  of 
the  Arapahoes. 

One  day  I  went  to  visit  their  camp,  taking  with  me 
only  my  buffalo  robe  and  my  bow  and  arrows.  At  the 
camp  I  found  a  number  of  young  men  of  my  tribe,  and  I 
went  into  the  lodge  where  they  were  sitting,  and  sat  down 
near  the  door.  Soon  after  I  had  entered  a  young  man  of 
my  tribe  proposed  that  our  young  men  should  gamble 
against  the  young  men  of  the  Arapahoes,  and  when  they 
had  agreed,  we  all  left  the  lodge  where  we  were  sitting, 
and  went  off  to  that  owned  by  Shaved-head.  I  followed 
along  after  the  others,  and  when  I  entered  the  lodge  I 
found  that  they  were  making  ready  to  gamble.  The 
counters  were  lying  between  the  lines,  ten  of  the  sticks 
lying  side  by  side,  and  two  lying  across  the  ten. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  leader  of  the  Arapahoes 
threw  down  on  the  ground  the  bone  they  were  to  gamble 
with,  and  the  leader  of  our  young  men  threw  down  his 
bone,  and  then  all  the  young  men  of  both  parties  began 
to  sing,  and  dance,  and  yell,  each  trying  to  bring  luck  to 
his  side.  Some  of  them  danced  all  around  the  lodge, 
singing  as  hard  as  they  could  sing.  After  a  time  all  sat 
down,  and  then  one  of  the  Arapahoes  chose  a  man  from 

61 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

his  side,  and  called  him  out  and  told  him  to  sit  down  in 
front  of  his  line.  The  leader  took  up  the  bone,  and  held 
it  up  to  the  sun,  and  to  the  four  directions,  praying  that 
his  side  might  win,  and  then  handed  it  to  this  man,  who 
let  the  robe  fall  back  from  his  shoulders,  rose  to  his 
knees,  and  after  rubbing  his  hands  on  the  ground,  began 
to  pass  the  bone  from  one  hand  to  the  other.  Then  the 
leader  of  our  party  stood  up,  and  looked  over  his  men, 
to  choose  someone  who  was  good  at  guessing.  He  chose  a 
man,  and  called  him  out  in  front  of  the  line,  to  guess  in 
which  hand  the  Arapahoe  held  the  bone.  Then  every 
body  began  to  sing  hard,  and  four  young  men  pounded 
with  sticks  on  a  parfleche,  in  time  to  the  music.  Presently 
our  man  guessed  and  guessed  right.  Then  our  people 
chose  a  man  to  pass  the  bone  for  them,  and  when  the 
Arapahoes  guessed,  they  guessed  wrong.  So  it  kept  on. 
The  Arapahoes  did  not  win  one  point,  and  our  people 
won  the  game.  Then  the  Arapahoes  would  play  no  more, 
and  the  gambling  stopped.  Afterward  they  had  a  dance. 
It  was  now  night.  I  had  heard  the  young  men  talking 
to  one  another,  and  I  knew  that  they  were  about  to  start 
off  to  war.  After  the  dance  was  over,  one  of  them  said  to 
the  others,  "Come,  let  us  go  about  the  camp  to-night,  and 
sing  wolf  songs."  They  did  so,  and  I  went  with  them. 
Every  little  while  they  would  stop  in  front  of  some  lodge 
and  sing;  and  perhaps  the  man  who  owned  the  lodge 
would  fill  a  pipe,  and  hold  it  out  to  them,  and  all  would 
smoke;  or  someone  would  hand  out  a  bit  of  tobacco,  or 
a  few  arrows,  or  five  or  six  bullets,  or  some  caps,  or  a 

62 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 

little  powder.  In  this  way  they  sang  for  a  long  time ;  and 
then,  when  they  were  tired,  they  went  to  the  different 
lodges  and  slept. 

The  next  morning  I  saw  them  making  up  the  packs 
which  they  were  to  carry  on  their  backs,  and  packing  the 
dogs  which  they  had  with  them  to  carry  their  moccasins. 
I  watched  them,  and  as  I  looked  at  them  I  wished  that  I, 
too,  might  go  to  war;  and  the  more  I  thought  about  it 
the  more  I  wished  to  go.  At  last  I  made  up  my  mind  that 
I  would  go.  I  had  no  food,  and  no  extra  moccasins,  but  I 
looked  about  the  camp,  and  found  some  that  had  been 
thrown  away,  worn  out;  and  I  asked  one  kind-hearted 
woman  to  give  me  some  moccasins,  and  she  gave  me 
three  pairs.  By  this  time  the  war  party  had  started,  and 
I  followed  them. 

The  snow  still  lay  deep  on  the  ground;  and  as  we 
marched  along,  one  after  another,  each  man  stepped  in 
the  tracks  of  the  man  before  him.  We  traveled  a  long 
way,  until  we  came  to  some  hills,  from  which  we  could  see 
a  river ;  and  before  we  got  down  to  the  river's  valley  we 
stopped  on  a  hill,  and  took  off  our  packs,  and  looked 
about  and  rested.  After  a  time  someone  said,  "Well,  let 
us  go  down  to  the  river  and  camp."  They  all  started 
down  the  hill,  but  I  remained  where  I  was,  waiting  to 
see  what  they  would  do.  You  see,  I  did  not  belong  to 
the  party,  and  I  did  not  know  how  the  others  felt  to 
ward  me;  so  I  was  shy  about  doing  anything;  I  wanted 
to  wait  and  see  what  they  did. 

When  the  others  reached  the  level  ground  near  the 

63 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

stream  they  threw  down  their  packs  and  began  to  go  to 
work.  Some  of  the  men  scraped  away  the  snow  from  the 
ground  where  they  were  to  sleep;  others  went  off  into 
the  timber,  and  soon  returned  with  loads  of  wood  on 
their  backs,  and  started  fires ;  others  brought  poles  with 
which  to  build  lodges ;  others,  bark  from  old  cottonwood 
trees,  and  others,  still,  brush.  Everyone  worked  hard. 

Presently  I  grew  tired  of  sitting  alone  on  the  hill,  and 
went  down  to  the  others.  When  I  reached  there,  I  found 
that  they  were  building  three  war  lodges,  and  as  I  drew 
near,  all  the  young  men  began  to  call  out  to  me,  each 
one  asking  me  to  come  over  to  him.  I  was  the  littlest  fel 
low  in  the  party,  and  they  all  wanted  me,  thinking  that 
I  might  bring  them  luck.  When  they  called  to  me,  they 
did  not  speak  to  me  by  my  name,  but  called  me  Bear 
Chief,  the  name  of  one  of  the  greatest  warriors  of  the 
tribe.  They  were  joking  with  me,  to  tease  me. 

When  I  wras  near  the  lodges  I  stopped,  uncertain 
what  to  do,  or  where  to  go,  and  Gray  Eyes,  a  man  a  little 
older  than  the  others,  walked  up  to  me,  and  took  me  by 
the  arm,  saying:  "Friend,  come  to  our  lodge.  If  you  go 
to  one  of  the  others,  the  young  men  will  be  making  fun 
of  you  all  the  time."  I  went  to  his  lodge,  and  he  told  me 
to  sit  down  near  the  door.  This  lodge  was  well  built, 
warm  and  comfortable.  They  had  taken  many  straight 
poles  and  set  them  up  as  the  poles  of  a  lodge  are  set  up, 
but  much  closer  together.  Then  the  poles  were  covered 
with  bark  and  brush,  so  as  to  keep  out  the  wind;  and 
within,  all  about  the  lodge,  were  good  beds,  with  bark 

64 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 

and  brush  under  them,  so  as  to  keep  those  who  were  to 
sleep  there  from  the  snow.  A  good  fire  burned  in  the 
middle  of  the  lodge. 

When  I  grew  warm  I  began  to  wonder  what  we  should 
have  to  eat.  We  had  traveled  all  day,  and  I  was  hungry ; 
yet  I  had  no  food,  and  could  see  none,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  cook  with,  not  even  a  kettle.  A  man  sitting  by 
the  fire  seemed  to  know  what  was  in  my  mind,  and  said 
to  me,  "Take  courage,  friend,  soon  you  shall  have  plenty 
to  eat.*  A  little  while  after  this,  a  man  called  out,  saying, 
"If  anyone  has  food  to  eat,  let  him  get  it  out."  When  he 
said  that,  the  young  men  began  to  open  their  packs. 
While  they  were  doing  this,  someone  cried,  "The  hunt 
ers  are  coming";  and  when  I  looked  I  saw  three  or  four 
men  coming,  each  with  an  antelope  on  his  back.  When 
these  men  had  come  near  to  the  camp,  everyone  rushed 
for  them,  and  they  threw  their  loads  on  the  snow,  and 
each  man  cut  off  meat  for  his  lodge.  Then  they  cut  it  into 
pieces  and  it  was  set  up  on  green  wrillow  twigs,  stuck  in 
the  ground  near  the  fire,  to  roast.  One  of  the  men  in  our 
lodge  said,  "Let  our  young  friend  here  be  the  first  one 
to  eat,"  and  someone  cut  a  piece  of  the  short  ribs  of  an 
antelope,  and  gave  it  to  me.  So  we  all  ate,  and  were  warm 
and  comfortable.  That  night  we  slept  well,  lying  with  our 
feet  to  the  fire,  as  people  always  lie  in  a  war  lodge. 

The  next  day  we  traveled  on.  Just  before  we  camped 
at  night  I  heard  the  sound  of  guns,  and  someone  told 
me  that  the  young  men  were  killing  buffalo.  Soon  after 
we  had  made  camp,  they  began  to  come  in,  some  carrying 

65 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

loads  of  meat  on  their  backs,  and  others  dragging  over 
the  snow  a  big  piece  of  buffalo  hide,  sewed  up  into  a  sack, 
and  full  of  meat.  Everyone  was  good-natured,  and  each 
young  man  was  laughing  and  joking  with  his  fellows, 
and  sometimes  playing  tricks  on  them.  That  night  a 
friend  took  a  piece  of  buffalo  hide  and  sewed  it  up,  and 
partly  dried  it  over  the  fire,  and  then  turned  it  inside  out, 
and  stuffed  it  full  of  meat,  and  gave  it  to  me,  saying, 
"Here  is  a  pack  for  you  to  carry." 

We  traveled  on  for  several  days ;  but  it  was  not  long 
after  this  that  the  scouts  came  in,  and  told  us  that  they 
had  seen  signs  of  people,  a  trail  where  a  large  camp  had 
passed  along  only  a  few  days  before.  When  I  heard  this 
I  was  a  little  frightened,  for  I  thought  to  myself,  "Sup 
pose  we  were  to  be  attacked,  how  could  I  run  away  with 
this  big  pack  on  my  back?"  But  I  said  nothing,  and  no 
one  else  seemed  to  be  afraid ;  all  were  happy  because 
there  was  a  chance  that  we  might  meet  enemies.  They 
laughed  and  talked  with  one  another,  and  said  what  a 
good  time  we  should  have  if  there  should  be  a  fight. 
Nevertheless,  that  night  the  leader  told  the  young  men 
to  bring  logs  out  of  the  timber,  and  pile  them  up  around 
the  war  lodges,  so  that  if  we  should  be  attacked  we  might 
fight  behind  breast  works.  Also,  he  told  them  that  if  we 
should  be  attacked  we  must  not  run  out  of  the  lodges, 
but  must  stay  in  them,  where  we  could  fight  well,  and  be 
protected  and  safe.  Also,  he  said,  "Everyone  must  be 
watchful;  it  may  be  that  enemies  are  near;  therefore, 
act  accordingly." 

66 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 

The  next  morning  the  leader  sent  out  two  parties  of 
scouts,  to  go  in  two  directions  to  look  for  enemies.  He 
told  them  where  they  should  go,  and  where  they  should 
meet  the  main  party,  which  was  to  keep  on  its  way,  trav 
eling  carefully,  and  out  of  sight. 

At  night,  after  we  had  reached  the  appointed  place, 
and  had  camped  there,  the  scouts  came  in,  and  told  us 
that  they  had  found  the  enemy,  and  that  their  camp  was 
not  far  off.  When  the  leader  learned  that,  he  said,  "It 
will  be  well  for  us  to  go  to-night  to  the  camp  of  these  ene 
mies,  and  try  to  take  their  horses."  The  distance  was  not 
great,  and  after  we  had  eaten,  all  set  out.  When  we  had 
come  near  to  the  camp,  we  could  see  in  some  of  the  lodges 
the  fires  still  burning,  and  knew  that  all  the  people  had 
not  gone  to  bed.  In  a  low  place  we  stopped,  and  there 
put  down  all  our  things.  Here  the  leader  told  us  what  we 
must  do,  calling  out  by  name  certain  men  who  should  go 
into  the  camp,  and  certain  other  men,  younger,  who 
should  go  about  through  the  hills  and  gather  up  loose 
horses,  and  drive  them  to  the  place  where  we  had  left 
our  packs.  My  name  he  did  not  speak,  and  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  While  I  sat  there,  doubtful,  all  the 
others  started  off.  Then  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I,  too, 
would  go  into  the  camp,  and  would  try  to  do  something, 
and  I  followed  the  others.  After  a  little  time  I  overtook 
them,  and  followed  along,  and  as  we  went  on  and  drew 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  camp,  men  kept  turning  off  to 
one  side,  until  presently,  when  we  were  quite  near  the 
camp,  most  of  them  had  disappeared  into  the  darkness ; 

67 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

but  I  could  still  see  some,  walking  along  ahead  of  me. 
Presently  we  reached  the  outer  circle  of  the  lodges,  and  a 
moment  or  two  after  that  I  could  see  none  of  our  people. 
I  was  walking  alone  among  the  lodges.  Now  I  was 
afraid,  for  I  did  not  know  how  to  act,  nor  what  I  wanted 
to  do,  and  I  thought  that  perhaps  one  of  the  enemy 
might  see  me,  and  see  that  I  did  not  belong  to  his  tribe, 
and  attack  me  and  kill  me.  I  held  my  head  down,  and 
walked  straight  along.  Not  many  people  were  about, 
and  no  one  passed  me.  Presently  I  came  to  a  lodge  in 
which  a  little  fire  was  burning,  and  not  very  far  away  was 
another  lodge,  in  which  people  were  singing  and  drum 
ming,  as  if  for  a  dance.  I  stopped,  and  looked  into  the 
first  lodge.  The  fire  was  low,  but  still  it  gave  some  light, 
and  I  could  see  plainly  that  no  one  was  there.  Then  sud 
denly  it  came  to  me  that  I  would  go  into  this  lodge,  and 
take  something  out  of  it,  which  should  show  to  my 
friends  that  I,  too,  had  been  in  the  camp.  I  did  not  think 
much  of  the  danger  that  someone  might  come  in,  but, 
stooping  down,  entered  the  lodge,  and  looked  about. 
Hanging  over  the  bed,  at  the  back  of  the  lodge,  was  a 
bow-case  and  quiver  full  of  arrows.  I  stepped  quickly 
across  and  took  this  down,  and  putting  it  under  my  robe, 
went  out  of  the  lodge,  and  walked  back  the  way  I  had 
come. 

As  I  had  entered  the  camp  I  had  seen  horses  standing, 
tied  in  front  of  the  lodges,  and  now,  as  I  was  going  back, 
I  stooped  down  in  front  of  a  lodge,  where  all  was  dark, 
cut  loose  a  horse,  and  walked  away,  leading  it  by  its 

68 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 

rope.  No  one  saw  me,  and  when  I  had  passed  beyond  the 
furthest  lodge  I  mounted  the  horse  and  rode  along 
slowly.  After  I  had  gone  a  little  further,  I  went  faster, 
and  soon  I  was  at  the  place  where  we  had  left  our  things. 
There  were  many  horses  there,  brought  in  by  the  younger 
men  that  had  been  looking  for  loose  horses,  and  some  cut 
loose  by  those  who  had  gone  into  camp.  Every  minute 
other  men  kept  coming  up,  and  presently  all  were  there. 
The  young  men  had  filled  their  saddle-pads  with  grass, 
and  now  each  one  chose  a  good  horse,  and  mounting  it 
drove  off  the  herd.  I  had  only  one  horse,  yet  my  heart  was 
glad,  for  it  was  the  first  I  had  ever  taken. 

For  a  time  we  rode  slowly,  but  presently,  faster;  and 
when  day  had  come  we  had  gone  a  long  way.  The  horses 
were  still  being  driven  in  separate  bunches,  so  that  each 
man  should  know  which  were  his — the  ones  he  had  taken ; 
but  soon  after  day  broke,  and  there  had  been  time  for 
each  to  look  over  his  animals,  they  were  bunched  to 
gether,  and  we  went  faster.  Nevertheless,  the  leader 
said  to  us:  "Friends,  do  not  hurry  the  horses  too  much; 
they  are  poor,  and  we  must  not  run  them  too  hard.  The 
horses  on  which  the  Crows  will  follow  us  are  poor  also, 
and  they  cannot  overtake  us." 

We  rode  fast  until  afternoon,  when  we  came  down 
into  the  valley  of  a  river,  and  there  stopped  to  let  our 
horses  feed.  Two  young  men  with  fresh  horses  were 
left  behind,  on  top  of  the  highest  hills,  to  watch  the  trail, 
to  see  whether  the  enemy  w^ere  following  us.  After  we 
had  been  there  for  a  time,  and  the  horses  had  eaten,  the 

69 


When  Buffalo  Ban. 

leader  called  out,  "Friends,  the  enemy  are  pursuing;  we 
must  hurry  on  the  horses."  In  a  moment  we  had  caught 
our  animals,  and  mounted,  and  were  driving  on  the  herd ; 
for,  far  back,  we  could  see  the  scouts  who  had  been  left 
behind  coming  toward  us,  riding  fast,  and  making  signs 
that  people  had  been  seen.  After  we  had  left  the  valley, 
and  were  among  the  hills,  the  leader  left  two  other  young 
men,  on  fresh  horses,  behind,  to  see  whether  the  enemy 
crossed  the  river,  and  followed;  while  we  went  on  with 
the  horses.  We  rode  all  that  night  and  part  of  the  next 
day,  and  then  stopped  again ;  and  that  night,  in  the  mid 
dle  of  the  night,  the  scouts  overtook  us,  and  told  us  that 
the  enemy  had  not  crossed  the  river,  where  we  had  first 
slept,  but  had  turned  about  there,  and  had  gone  back. 
"There  were  only  a  few  of  them,"  they  said.  "We  two 
were  almost  tempted  to  attack  them,  but  we  had  been 
told  only  to  watch  them,  and  we  thought  it  better  to  do 
that."  Four  days  afterward  we  reached  our  village. 

I  had  no  saddle,  and  when  I  reached  the  camp  I  was 
very  sore  and  stiff  from  riding  so  long  without  a  saddle. 
Nevertheless,  I  was  pleased,  for  I  had  taken  a  horse  that 
was  fast,  long-winded  and  tough ;  and  I  had  taken  also  a 
fine  bow  and  arrows,  with  an  otter-skin  case.  The  leader 
spoke  to  me,  and  told  me  that  I  had  done  well  to  go  into 
this  lodge.  He  said  to  me,  "Friend,  you  have  made  a  good 
beginning;  I  think  that  you  will  be  a  good  warrior." 
Also,  when  we  reached  the  village,  my  uncle  praised  me, 
and  said  that  I  had  done  well.  He  looked  at  the  bow  and 
the  arrows,  and  told  me  that  to  have  taken  them  was 

70 


Among  Enemy  Lodges. 

better  than  to  have  taken  a  good  horse,  and  that  he  hoped 
that  I  would  be  able  to  use  them  in  fighting  with  my 
enemies.  Such  was  my  first  journey  to  war. 


71 


A  Grown  Man. 


THAT  summer  my  uncle  gave  me  a  gun,  and  now  I  was 
beginning  to  feel  that  I  was  really  a  man,  and  I  hunted 
constantly,  and  had  good  luck,  killing  deer  and  elk,  and 
other  game. 

One  day  the  next  year,  with  a  friend,  I  was  hunting 
a  two  days'  journey  from  the  camp.  We  had  killed 
nothing  until  this  day,  when  we  got  a  deer,  and  toward 
evening  stopped  to  cook  and  eat.  The  country  was 
broken  with  many  hills  and  ravines,  and  before  we  went 
down  to  the  stream  to  build  our  fire  I  had  looked  from 
the  top  of  a  little  hill,  to  see  whether  anything  could  be 
seen.  My  friend  was  building  a  fire  to  cook  food,  and  I 
had  gone  down  to  the  fire  and  spread  my  robe  on  the 
ground,  and  was  lying  on  it,  resting,  while  our  horses 
were  feeding  near  by,  when  suddenly  I  had  a  strange 
feeling.  I  seemed  to  feel  that  I  was  in  great  danger,  and 
as  if  I  must  get  away  from  this  place.  I  was  frightened. 
I  felt  there  was  danger;  that  something  bad  was  going  to 
happen.  I  did  not  know  what  it  was,  nor  why  I  felt  so, 
but  I  was  afraid.  I  seemed  to  turn  to  water  inside  of  me. 
I  had  never  felt  so  before.  I  sat  up  and  looked  about; 
nothing  was  to  be  seen.  My  friend  was  cutting  some  meat 
to  cook  over  the  little  fire,  and  just  beyond  him  the  horses 
were  feeding.  My  friend  was  singing  to  himself  a  little 
war  song,  as  he  worked. 

73 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

My  feelings  grew  worse  instead  of  better.  I  stood  up, 
took  my  gun,  and  walked  toward  a  little  hill  not  far  from 
where  we  were,  and  my  friend  called  out  to  me,  "Where 
are  you  going?  I  thought  you  wished  to  rest."  I  said  to 
him,  "I  will  go  to  the  top  of  that  little  hill,  and  look  over 
it."  When  I  got  there  I  looked  about;  I  could  see 
nothing.  It  was  early  summer,  and  the  grass  was  green. 
The  soil  was  soft  and  sandy.  For  a  long  time  I  looked 
about  in  all  directions,  but  could  see  nothing,  but  then  I 
could  not  see  far,  for  there  were  other  little  hills,  nearly 
as  high,  close  to  me. 

Presently  I  looked  at  the  ground  a  few  steps  before 
me,  and  I  thought  I  saw  where  something  had  stepped. 
It  was  hard  for  me  to  make  up  my  mind  to  walk  to  this 
place,  but  at  length  I  did  so.  When  I  got  there  I  saw 
where  a  horse  had  stood — a  fresh  horse  track.  Near  it 
were  two  tracks  made  by  a  man,  an  enemy.  I  could  see 
where  he  had  stood,  with  one  foot  advanced  before  the 
other.  When  I  saw  these  tracks  I  knew  what  had  hap 
pened  ;  an  enemy  had  stood  there  looking  over  at  us,  and 
when  he  saw  me  with  my  gun  start  toward  the  top  of  the 
hill  he  had  gone  away.  Standing  where  he  had  stood,  I 
looked  back  toward  our  horses ;  I  could  hardly  see  their 
backs,  but  a  man  taller  than  I  could  have  seen  more  of 
them,  and  the  heads  of  the  two  men.  I  turned  to  follow 
the  tracks  a  little  way,  and  as  I  walked,  it  did  not  seem  to 
me  that  my  bones  were  stiff  enough  to  support  my  body ; 
I  seemed  to  sway  from  side  to  side,  and  felt  as  if  I  should 
fall  down.  I  was  frightened. 

74 


A  Grown  Man. 

I  saw  where  the  man  had  led  his  horse  a  little  way 
back  from  the  hill,  and  then  had  jumped  on  it  and  rid 
den  off  as  hard  as  he  could  gallop.  A  little  further  on  was 
the  place  where  another  horse  had  stood;  it,  too,  had 
turned  and  gone  off  fast;  its  rider  had  not  dismounted. 
One  of  the  men  had  said  to  the  other:  "You  wait  here, 
and  I  will  go  up  and  take  a  look.  If  these  people  sleep 
here  we  will  attack  them  when  it  is  dark,  and  kill  them 
and  take  their  horses." 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  wanted  to  run  back  to 
my  friend  and  tell  him  what  I  had  seen ;  but  I  had  cour 
age  enough  to  walk.  I  felt  angry  at  myself  for  being  so 
frightened.  I  said  to  myself:  "Come,  you  are  a  man; 
you  belong  to  brave  people;  your  uncle  and  your 
father  did  not  fear  things  that  they  could  not  see. 
Be  brave.  Be  strong."  It  was  no  use  for  me  to  say  this; 
I  was  so  frightened  I  could  hardly  control  myself.  I 
felt  as  if  I  must  run  away. 

I  walked  until  I  was  close  to  my  friend.  He  was  cook 
ing  meat,  and  was  still  singing  to  himself.  When  I  was 
pretty  near  to  him  I  said,  "Friend,  put  the  saddle  on  your 
horse,  and  I  will  saddle  mine,  and  we  will  go  away  from 
here."  He  turned  and  looked  at  me,  and  in  a  moment  he 
had  dropped  the  meat  that  he  was  cooking,  and  was  sad 
dling  up.  He  told  me  the  next  day  that  my  face  had 
changed  so  that  he  hardly  knew  me ;  my  face  was  like  that 
of  one  dead.  I  said  to  him,  "Do  you  go  ahead,  and  go 
fast,  but  do  not  gallop."  He  started  off  without  a  word, 
and  I  followed  him.  It  was  now  growing  dark,  but  you 

75 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

could  still  see  a  long  way.  As  I  rode  I  seemed  to  have 
three  heads,  I  looked  in  so  many  different  directions. 
We  traveled  fast.  My  courage  did  not  come  back  to  me. 
I  was  still  miserable. 

About  the  middle  of  the  night  I  said  to  my  friend, 
"Let  us  stop  here,  so  that  the  horses  may  eat."  We 
stopped  and  took  off  our  saddles,  and  held  the  ropes  of 
our  horses  in  our  hands,  and  lay  down  on  the  ground  to 
gether,  looking  back  over  the  trail  that  we  had  come. 
My  friend's  horse  was  eating,  but  mine  stood  with  his 
head  high,  and  his  ears  pricked,  and  kept  looking  back 
toward  where  we  had  come  from.  Every  now  and  then 
he  would  snort,  as  if  frightened.  Sometimes  he  would 
take  a  bite  or  two  of  grass,  and  then  would  again  stand 
with  his  head  up,  looking  and  snorting.  This  made  me 
more  afraid  than  ever ;  and  now  my  friend  was  as  badly 
frightened  as  I. 

At  last  I  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  I  said  to  him, 
"Let  us  turn  off  the  trail,  and  go  along  a  divide  where  no 
one  is  likely  to  follow  us."  We  started,  loping.  After  we 
had  gone  some  distance  we  stopped,  took  off  our  bridles, 
and  again  lay  down,  looking  back  over  the  way  we  had 
come.  The  night  was  dark,  but  we  could  see  a  little,  and 
we  watched  and  listened.  Still  my  horse  would  not  eat, 
but  kept  looking  back  over  the  trail.  Suddenly,  my  friend 
said,  "There  he  is.  Do  you  see?"  I  looked,  and  looked,  but 
could  see  nothing.  "Where  is  it?"  said  I.  With  my  head 
close  to  the  ground  I  looked  in  the  direction  in  which 
he  pointed,  but  could  see  nothing.  My  friend  saw  it 

76 


A  Grown  Man. 

move,  however.  I  said  to  him,  "Here,  let  us  change 
places ;"  and  I  moved  to  his  place,  and  he  to  mine.  Then 
I  looked,  and  in  a  moment  I  saw  just  in  front  of  my  face 
a  weed- stalk,  and  when  I  moved  my  head  the  stalk 
moved.  This  was  what  he  had  seen. 

For  the  first  time  since  this  feeling  had  come  over  me 
in  the  afternoon  I  laughed,  and  with  a  rush  my  courage 
came  back  to  me.  I  felt  as  brave  and  cheerful  as  ever. 
All  through  the  evening  I  had  not  wished  to  smoke,  and 
if  I  had  wrished  to,  I  should  have  been  afraid  to  light  my 
pipe.  Now  I  filled  my  pipe,  lighted  it,  and  we  smoked. 
When  I  laughed  my  friend's  courage  came  back  too. 
We  lay  down  and  slept,  and  the  next  day  went  on  to  the 
village. 


77 


A  Sacrifice. 


DUKING  the  next  two  years  I  went  to  war  five  times, 
always  as  a  servant,  but  always  I  had  good  luck.  This 
was  because  early,  after  my  first  trip  to  war,  I  had  asked 
an  old  man,  one  of  my  relations,  to  teach  me  how  to 
make  a  sacrifice  which  should  be  pleasing  to  those  spirits 
who  rule  the  world. 

It  was  in  the  early  summer,  when  the  grass  was  high 
and  green,  not  yet  turning  brown,  that,  with  this  old  man, 
Torn  Lodge,  I  went  out  into  the  hills  to  suffer  and  to 
pray,  to  ask  for  help  in  my  life,  and  that  I  might  be 
blessed  in  all  my  warpaths.  Torn  Lodge  had  told  me 
what  I  must  do,  and  before  the  time  came  I  had  cut  a 
pole,  and  brought  it  and  a  rope,  and  a  bundle  of  sinew, 
and  some  small  wooden  pins  near  to  the  place  where  we 
were  to  go,  and  had  hidden  them  in  a  ravine. 

It  was  before  the  sun  had  risen  that  we  started  out, 
and  when  we  came  to  the  hill  where  the  things  were, 
I  carried  them  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  there  Torn 
Lodge  and  I  dug  a  hole  in  the  soil  with  our  knives, 
and  planted  the  pole,  stamping  the  earth  tightly  about 
it,  and  then  putting  great  stones  on  the  earth,  so  that 
the  pole  should  be  held  firmly.  Then  Torn  Lodge  tied 
the  rope  to  the  pole,  and  with  sinew  tied  the  pins  to 
the  rope,  and  then  holding  the  pins  and  his  knife  up  to 
the  sun,  and  to  the  sky,  and  then  placing  them  on  the 

79 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

earth,  he  prayed  to  all  the  spirits  of  the  air,  and  of  the 
earth,  and  of  the  waters,  asking  that  this  sacrifice  that  I 
was  about  to  make  should  be  blessed,  and  that  I  should 
have  help  in  all  my  undertakings.  Then  he  came  and 
stood  before  me,  and  taking  hold  of  the  skin  of  my 
breast  on  the  right  side,  he  pinched  it  up  and  passed  his 
knife  through  it,  and  then  passed  the  pin  through  under 
the  skin,  and  tied  the  end  to  the  rope  with  another  strand 
of  sinew.  In  the  same  way  he  did  on  the  left  side  of  my 
breast.  Then  he  told  me  that  all  through  the  day  I  should 
walk  about  this  pole,  always  on  the  side  of  the  pole 
toward  which  the  sun  was  looking,  and  that  I  should 
throw  myself  back  against  the  rope  and  should  try  to 
tear  the  pins  from  my  skin.  Then,  telling  me  to  pray 
constantly,  to  have  a  strong  heart,  and  not  to  lose  cour 
age,  he  set  out  to  return  to  the  village. 

All  through  the  long  summer  day  I  walked  about  the 
pole,  praying  to  all  the  spirits,  and  crying  aloud  to  the 
sun  and  the  earth,  and  all  the  animals  and  birds  to  help 
me.  Each  time  when  I  came  to  the  end  of  the  rope  I 
threw  myself  back  against  it,  and  pulled  hard.  The  skin 
of  my  breast  stretched  out  as  wide  as  your  hand,  but  it 
would  not  tear,  and  at  last  all  my  chest  grew  numb,  so 
that  it  had  no  feeling  in  it ;  and  yet,  little  by  little,  as  I 
threw  my  whole  weight  against  the  rope,  the  strips  of 
skin  stretched  out  longer  and  longer.  All  day  long  I 
walked  in  this  way.  The  sun  blazed  down  like  fire.  I  had 
no  food,  and  did  not  drink ;  for  so  I  had  been  instructed. 
Toward  night  my  mouth  grew  dry,  and  my  neck  sore; 

80 


"DO    NOT    GO;    WAIT    A    LITTLE     LONGER' 


A  Sacrifice. 

so  that  to  swallow,  or  even  to  open  my  mouth  in  prayer 
hurt  me.  It  seemed  a  long  time  before  the  sun  got  over- 
ead  and  the  pole  cast  but  a  small  shadow ;  but  it  seemed 
that  the  shadow  of  the  pole  grew  long  in  the  afternoon 
much  more  slowly  than  it  had  grown  short  in  the 
morning. 

I  was  very  tired,  and  my  legs  were  shaking  under  me, 
when  at  last,  as  the  sun  hung  low  over  the  western  hills, 
I  saw  someone  coming.  It  was  my  friend,  Torn  Lodge ; 
and  when  he  had  come  close  to  me,  he  spoke  to  me  and 
said,  "My  son,  have  you  been  faithful  all  through  the 
day?"  I  answered  him,  "Father,  I  have  walked  and 
prayed  all  day  long,  but  I  cannot  tear  out  these  pins." 
"You  have  done  well,"  he  said;  and,  drawing  his  knife, 
he  came  to  me,  and  taking  hold  first  of  one  pin  and  then 
of  the  other,  he  cut  off  the  strips  of  skin  which  passed 
about  the  pins,  and  set  me  free.  He  held  the  strips  of  skin 
that  he  had  cut  off,  toward  the  sky,  and  toward  the  four 
directions,  and  prayed,  saying:  "Listen!  all  you  spirits 
of  the  air,  and  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  water ;  and  you, 
O  earth!  and  you,  O  sun!  This  is  the  sacrifice  that  my 
son  has  made  to  you.  You  have  heard  how  he  cries  to  you 
for  help.  Hear  his  prayer."  Then  at  the  foot  of  the  pole 
he  scraped  a  little  hole  in  the  earth  and  placed  the  bits 
of  skin  there,  and  covered  them  up.  Then  he  gave  me  to 
drink  from  a  buffalo  paunch  waterskin  that  he  had 
brought. 

"Now,  my  son,"  said  he,  "you  shall  sleep  here  this 
night,  and  to-morrow  morning,  as  the  sun  rises,  leave  this 

81 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

hill,  and  everything  on  it,  as  it  is,  and  return  to  the  camp. 
It  may  be  that  during  the  night  something  will  come  to 
you,  to  tell  you  a  thing.  If  you  are  spoken  to  in  your 
sleep,  remember  carefully  what  is  said  to  you." 

After  he  had  gone  I  lay  down,  covering  myself  with 
my  robe,  and  was  soon  asleep,  for  I  was  very  tired.  That 
night,  while  I  slept,  I  dreamed  that  a  wolf  came  to  me, 
and  spoke,  saying:  "My  son,  the  spirits  to  whom  you  have 
cried  all  day  long  have  heard  your  prayers,  and  have  sent 
me  to  tell  you  that  your  cryings  have  not  been  in  vain. 
Take  courage,  therefore,  for  you  shall  be  fortunate  so 
long  as  these  wars  last.  You  shall  strike  your  enemies; 
your  name  shall  be  called  through  the  camp,  and  all  your 
relations  will  be  glad. 

"Look  at  me,  and  consider  well  my  ways.  Remember 
that  of  all  the  animals,  the  wolves  are  the  smartest.  If 
they  get  hungry,  they  go  out  and  kill  a  buffalo;  they 
know  what  is  going  to  happen;  they  are  always  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  You  shall  be  like  the  wolf;  you 
shall  be  able  to  creep  close  to  your  enemies,  and  they  shall 
not  see  you ;  you  shall  be  a  great  man  for  surprising  peo 
ple.  In  the  bundle  that  you  wear  tied  to  your  necklet, 
you  shall  carry  a  little  wolf  hair,  and  your  quiver  and 
your  bow-case  shall  be  made  of  the  skin  of  a  wolf."  The 
wolf  ceased  speaking,  yet  for  a  time  he  sat  there  looking 
at  me,  and  I  at  him ;  but  presently  he  yawned,  and  stood 
up  on  his  feet,  and  trotted  off  a  little  way,  and  suddenly 
I  could  not  see  him. 

So  then  in  these  five  times  that  I  went  to  war,  once  I 

82 


A  Sacrifice. 

counted  the  first  coup  of  all  on  an  enemy ;  and  three  times 
I  crept  into  camp  and  brought  out  horses,  twice  going 
with  other  men  who  went  in  to  cut  loose  the  horses,  and 
once  going  in  alone.  For  these  things  I  came  to  be  well 
thought  of  by  the  tribe.  My  uncle  praised  me,  and  said 
that  the  time  was  coming  when  I  would  be  a  good  war 
rior.  All  my  relations  felt  proud  and  glad  that  I  had  such 
good  luck. 

I  knew  why  all  this  had  come  to  me.  I  had  done  as  the 
wolf  had  said,  and  often  I  went  out  from  the  camp — 
or  perhaps  I  stopped  when  I  was  traveling  far  from  the 
village — and  went  up  on  a  hill,  and,  lighting  a  pipe, 
offered  a  smoke  to  the  wolf,  and  asked  him  not  to  forget 
what  he  had  said  to  me. 

I  was  now  a  grown  man,  and  able  to  do  all  the  things 
that  young  men  do.  I  was  a  good  hunter ;  I  had  a  herd 
of  horses,  and  had  been  to  war,  and  been  well  spoken 
of  by  the  leaders  whose  war  parties  I  went  with.  I  was  old 
enough,  too,  to  think  about  young  girls,  and  to  feel  that 
some  day  I  wanted  to  get  married,  and  to  have  a  lodge 
and  home  of  my  own.  There  were  many  nice  girls  in  the 
camp;  many  who  were  hard  workers,  modest,  and  very 
pretty.  I  liked  many  of  them,  but  there  was  no  one  whom 
I  liked  so  much  as  Standing  Alone.  I  often  saw  her,  but 
sometimes  she  would  not  look  at  me,  and  sometimes  she 
looked,  but  when  she  saw  me  looking  at  her  she  looked 
down  again;  but  sometimes  she  smiled  a  little  as  she 
looked  down.  It  was  long  since  we  had  played  together, 
but  I  thought  that  perhaps  she  had  not  forgotten  the 

83 

I 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

time,  so  many  years  ago,  when  she  pretended  to  be  my 
wife,  and  when  she  had  mourned  over  me  once  when  I 
was  killed  by  a  buffalo. 

As  I  grew  older  I  felt  more  and  more  that  I  wished  to 
see  and  talk  with  her.  Of  course  I  was  too  young  to  be 
married  yet,  but  I  was  not  too  young  to  want  to  talk 
with  Standing  Alone.  I  used  to  go  out  and  stand  by  the 
trail  where  the  women  passed  to  get  water,  hoping  that 
I  might  speak  to  her,  but  often  there  was  no  chance  to 
do  so.  Sometimes  she  was  with  other  girls,  who  laughed 
and  joked  about  me,  and  asked  whom  I  was  waiting  for. 
They  could  not  tell  who  was  standing  there,  for  my  robe 
or  my  sheet  covered  my  whole  body,  except  the  hole 
through  which  I  looked  with  one  eye.  But  one  day  when 
Standing  Alone  was  going  by  with  some  girls,  one  of 
them  recognized  the  sheet  that  I  had  on,  and  called  out 
my  name,  and  said  that  she  believed  that  I  was  waiting 
for  Standing  Alone.  I  was  surprised  that  she  should 
know  me,  and  felt  badly,  but  I  did  not  move,  and  so  I 
think  neither  she  nor  the  girls  with  her  knew  that 
she  had  guessed  right ;  and  the  next  time  I  went  I  wore 
a  different  sheet,  and  different  moccasins  and  leggings. 

One  evening  I  had  good  luck;  all  the  women  had 
passed,  and  Standing  Alone  had  not  appeared.  I  sup 
posed  that  all  had  got  their  water,  and  was  about  to  go 
away  when  she  came  hurrying  along  the  trail,  and  passed 
me  and  went  to  the  water's  edge.  She  filled  her  vessel 
and  came  back,  and  when  she  passed  me  again  I  took 
hold  of  her  dress  and  pulled  it,  and  dropped  my  sheet 

84 


A  Sacrifice. 

from  my  head.  She  stopped  and  we  stood  there  and 
talked  for  a  little  while.  We  were  both  of  us  afraid,  we 
did  not  know  of  what,  and  had  not  much  to  say,  but  it 
was  pleasant  to  be  there  talking  to  her,  and  looking  at 
her  face.  Three  times  she  started  to  go,  but  each  time  I 
said  to  her,  "Do  not  go;  wait  a  little  longer";  and  each 
time  she  waited.  The  fourth  time  she  went  away.  After 
that,  I  think  she  knew  me  whenever  I  stood  by  the  trail, 
and  sometimes  she  was  late  in  coming  for  water,  and  I 
had  a  chance  to  speak  to  her  alone. 

In  those  days  I  was  happy ;  and  often  when  the  camp 
was  resting,  and  there  was  nothing  for  me  to  do,  I  used 
to  go  out  and  sit  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and  think 
about  Standing  Alone,  and  hope  that  in  the  time  to 
come  I  might  have  her  for  my  wife,  and  that  I  might  do 
great  things  in  war,  so  that  she  would  be  proud  of  me; 
and  might  bring  back  many  horses  for  her,  so  that  she 
could  always  ride  a  good  horse,  and  have  a  finely  orna 
mented  saddle  and  saddle-cloth.  If  I  could  take  horses 
enough,  I  should  be  rich,  and  then  whatever  Standing 
Alone  might  desire,  I  could  give  a  horse  for  it. 


85 


A  Warrior  Ready  to  Die. 


IT  was  not  long  after  this  that  buffalo  were  found, 
and  we  began  to  kill  them,  as  we  used  to  do  in  the  old 
times ;  and  then  a  great  misfortune  happened  to  me. 

One  day  I  was  chasing  buffalo  on  a  young  horse, 
and  as  it  ran  down  a  steep  hill,  it  stumbled  among  the 
stones,  and  fell  down,  rolling  over,  and  I  was  thrown 
far ;  and,  as  I  fell  to  the  ground,  my  knee  struck  against 
a  large  stone.  When  I  got  up  my  leg  was  useless,  and  I 
could  not  walk,  but  I  managed  to  catch  my  horse,  and 
crawling  on  it  I  reached  the  camp.  After  a  little  my  knee 
got  better,  and  then  again  worse,  and  then  better  again. 
Still  I  could  not  walk,  and  for  two  years  I  stayed  in 
the  camp,  crippled,  and  unable  to  go  from  place  to  place, 
except  when  I  was  helped  on  my  horse.  I  grew  thin  and 
weak,  and  thought  that  I  should  die. 

Many  of  the  young  men  of  my  age,  my  friends,  were 
sorry  for  me.  They  used  to  come  to  my  lodge  and  eat 
and  talk,  telling  me  the  news.  Sometimes,  when  I  was  sit 
ting  out  in  the  shade  of  the  lodge,  looking  over  the  camp, 
and  feeling  the  pleasant  breeze  blow  on  my  face,  or  the 
warm  sun  shine  on  my  body,  I  saw  the  young  men  and 
boys  walking  about,  and  running,  and  wrestling,  and 
kicking,  and  jumping  on  their  horses  and  galloping  off, 
and  it  made  me  feel  badly  to  think  that  I  could  no  longer 
do  the  things  that  I  used  to  do ;  could  no  longer  hunt,  and 

87 


When  Buffalo  Ean. 

help  to  support  my  relations ;  could  no  longer  go  off  on 
the  warpath  with  my  fellows,  to  fight  the  enemy,  or  to 
take  plunder  from  them.  I  was  useless. 

Often  during  this  time,  older  men — my  uncle's  friends 
—used  to  come  to  the  lodge,  and  stop  there  and  talk 
with  me  for  a  little  time,  to  cheer  me  up,  for  I  think  they 
too  felt  sorry  for  me.  The  doctors  tried  hard  to  cure  my 
leg,  but  though  they  did  many  things,  and  I  and  my 
uncle  paid  them  many  horses,  and  saddles  and  blankets, 
they  could  not  help  me.  Once  in  a  while,  in  the  morning, 
after  all  the  men  had  gone  out  to  chase  buffalo,  or  to  hunt 
for  smaller  animals,  deer  or  elk  or  antelope,  Standing 
Alone  would  come  to  my  mother's  lodge,  perhaps  bring 
ing  some  little  present  for  her,  and  would  sit  and  talk 
with  her,  and  sometimes  look  at  me,  and  I  could  see 
that  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  and  that  she  too  felt 
sorry.  Sometimes  she  spoke  to  me,  but  not  often;  but  it 
always  made  me  glad  to  see  her,  and  made  me  feel  more 
than  ever  that  she  had  a  good  heart. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  I  sent  word  to  my  uncle, 
asking  him  to  come  to  see  me ;  and  when  he  had  come  and 
sat  down,  I  asked  my  mother  and  my  sisters  to  leave  the 
lodge,  and  when  they  had  gone  I  spoke  to  my  uncle. 
"Father,  you  have  seen  how  it  has  been  with  me  for  two 
years;  that  I  am  no  longer  able  to  go  about;  that  I  am 
a  cripple,  lying  here  day  after  day,  useless  to  my  rela 
tions,  and  very  unhappy.  Now,  I  have  thought  of  this  for 
a  long  time,  and  I  have  made  up  my  mind  what  I  shall 
do.  It  is  time  for  me  to  go  off  with  some  of  the  young 

88 


A  Warrior  Ready  to  Die. 

men  on  the  warpath,  and  when  we  meet  the  enemy,  I 
will  ride  straight  into  the  midst  of  them,  and  will  strike 
one,  and  he  shall  kill  me.  I  am  no  longer  glad  to  live, 
and  it  will  be  well  for  me  to  die  bravely." 

For  a  long  time  my  uncle  said  nothing,  but  sat  there 
looking  at  the  ground.  After  he  had  thought,  he  raised 
his  head  and  spoke  to  me,  saying:  "Son,  you  can  remem 
ber  how  it  has  been  with  us  since  you  were  a  little  boy. 
You  have  been  my  son,  and  I  have  loved  you.  I  have 
been  glad  when  you  went  to  war,  and  glad  when  you  re 
turned  with  credit;  yet  I  should  not  have  mourned  if 
you  had  been  killed  in  battle,  for  that  is  the  way  a  man 
ought  to  die.  I  have  seen  your  sufferings  now  for  two 
years,  and  I  know  how  you  feel.  I  think  that  it  will  be 
well  for  you  to  do  as  you  have  said,  and  for  you  to  give 
your  body  to  the  enemy,  and  to  be  killed  on  the  open 
prairie,  where  the  birds  and  the  beasts  may  feed  on  your 
flesh,  and  may  scatter  it  over  the  plain.  Now,  when  you 
are  ready  to  do  this,  tell  me,  so  that  I  may  see  that  you  go 
to  war  as  becomes  a  warrior  who  is  about  to  die." 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this  that  a  party  of  young 
men  set  out  to  war,  all  mounted,  to  go  south  to  look 
for  the  Utes.  Among  them  was  the  one  who  had  been  my 
close  friend,  and  to  him  I  had  told  what  was  in  my  mind ; 
and  when  I  spoke  to  the  leader  of  the  party,  he  was  glad 
to  have  me  go  with  him,  as  were  all  of  them. 

I  told  my  uncle,  and  he  gave  me  his  best  war  horse 
to  ride,  and  gave  me  also  a  sacred  headdress  that  he  wore, 
which  had  in  it  some  of  the  feathers  of  the  thunder 

89 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

bird.  I  took  with  me  no  arms,  except  a  stone  axe  that  my 
father  had  had  from  his  father,  and  he  from  his  father, 
and  which  had  come  down  in  our  family  through  many 
generations. 

The  party  started,  and  we  traveled  fast  and  far  to  the 
south.  At  first  I  was  very  weak,  and  got  very  tired 
during  the  long  marches,  but  after  a  time  I  grew 
stronger,  and  could  eat  better,  and  felt  better;  but  my 
leg  was  as  bad  as  ever. 

We  had  been  out  many  days  and  were  still  traveling 
south,  east  of  the  mountains,  when,  one  day  our  scouts 
came  upon  the  carcasses  of  buffalo  that  had  been  killed 
only  a  little  time  before,  and  the  meat  cut  from  the  bones. 
From  this  we  knew  that  enemies  were  close  by,  and  we 
went  carefully.  Not  far  beyond  these  carcasses,  as  we 
rode  up  on  a  hill,  we  saw  before  us  in  the  valley  two  per 
sons  butchering  a  buffalo,  and  as  we  watched  them  at 
their  work,  we  could  see  that  they  were  Utes — enemies. 
All  the  young  men  jumped  on  their  horses,  and  we 
charged  down  on  them.  Before  we  were  near  them  they 
had  seen  us,  and  had  run  to  their  horses,  and  jumped  on 
them  and  ridden  away.  By  this  time  I  was  far  ahead 
of  my  friends,  for  my  horse  was  the  fastest  of  all;  and 
soon  I  was  getting  close  to  these  enemies.  They  rode  al 
most  side  by  side,  but  one  a  little  ahead  of  the  other. 

The  one  who  was  on  the  left  and  a  little  behind  carried 
a  bow  and  arrows,  while  the  man  on  the  right  had  a  gun. 
I  said  to  myself:  "I  will  ride  between  these  two  persons, 
and  the  man  with  the  bow  will  then  have  to  shoot  toward 

90 


A  Warrior  Ready  to  Die. 

his  right  hand,  and  will  very  likely  miss  me,  while  I  may 
be  able  to  knock  him  off  his  horse  with  my  axe."  I  was 
not  afraid,  for  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  die. 

Before  long  I  had  overtaken  the  Utes,  and,  riding  be 
tween  them,  made  ready  to  strike  them.  The  man  with  the 
arrows  turned  on  his  horse,  and  shot  at  me,  but  I  bent  to 
one  side,  and  the  arrow  passed  by  without  hitting  me, 
and  I  struck  him  with  my  axe  and  knocked  him  off  his 
horse.  Then  the  man  with  the  gun  turned  and  was  aiming 
at  me,  but  when  he  pulled  the  trigger  his  gun  snapped 
and  did  not  go  off.  I  was  close  to  him  and  caught  the 
barrel  in  my  hand,  and  struck  him  with  my  axe,  and 
knocked  him  off  his  horse.  Then  I  rode  on,  holding  his 
gun  in  my  hand.  Before  the  two  men  whom  I  had  struck 
could  get  on  their  horses  again,  my  friends  had  over 
taken  and  killed  them. 

We  traveled  on  further,  but  found  no  more  enemies, 
and  at  last  we  gave  up,  and  returned  to  our  village. 
All  the  time,  as  we  were  journeying  about,  and  going 
back,  I  kept  feeling  better  and  better.  I  grew  stronger 
slowly.  The  swelling  on  my  knee  began  to  go  down,  so 
that  before  we  reached  the  village  I  could  rest  my  weight 
on  that  foot  a  little.  At  last  we  arrived,  and  when  we 
came  in  sight  of  the  camp,  we  could  see  people  looking 
from  the  lodges  to  see  who  were  coming. 

As  we  rode  down  the  hill  to  charge  upon  the  village, 
the  leader  told  me  to  ride  far  in  front,  "For,"  he  said,  "you 
are  the  bravest  of  all."  When  we  came  into  the  village  the 
men  and  the  women  and  the  children  came  out  to  meet 

91 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

us.  All  of  them  shouted  out  my  name,  and  my  heart  grew 
big  in  my  breast,  for  I  felt  that  all  the  people  thought 
that  I  had  done  well.  Among  the  women  who  came  out 
to  meet  us,  I  saw  Standing  Alone,  running  along  by  my 
mother,  and  both  were  singing  a  glad  song.  And  when  I 
saw  this,  I  came  near  to  crying. 

At  last  I  reached  my  lodge,  and  before  it  stood  my 
uncle ;  and  as  I  rode  toward  him  he  called  out  in  a  loud 
voice,  and  asked  a  certain  man  named  Brave  Wolf  to 
come  to  his  lodge  and  see  his  son  who  had  given  his  body 
to  the  enemy,  desiring  to  be  killed,  but  who  had  done 
great  things  and  had  survived.  And  when  Brave  Wolf 
came  to  the  lodge,  my  uncle  gave  to  him  the  best  horse 
that  he  had,  a  spotted  war  pony,  handsome  and  long- 
winded  and  fleet. 

All  that  day  I  sat  in  the  lodge  and  rested,  and  talked 
to  my  uncle.  I  told  him  about  our  journey  to  war,  and 
while  he  did  not  say  much  I  could  see  that  his  heart  was 
glad.  Before  he  got  up  to  leave  the  lodge,  he  said  to  me, 
"Friend,  you  have  done  well;  I  am  glad  to  have  such  a 
son."  This  made  me  feel  glad  and  proud — more  proud, 
I  think,  than  I  felt  when  I  heard  the  people  shout  out 
my  name.  I  loved  my  uncle  and  it  seemed  good  that  I 
had  done  something  that  pleased  him. 

All  day  long  people  were  coming  to  our  lodge  and 
talking  about  what  had  happened  to  us  while  on  our 
journey.  Those  who  came  were  my  relations  and  friends, 
but,  besides  these,  older  men,  good  warriors,  people  to 
whose  words  all  the  tribe  listened,  came  and  sat  and 

92 


A  Warrior  'Ready  to  Die. 

talked  with  me  for  a  little  while.  My  mother  and  one  or 
two  of  her  relations  were  busy  all  day  cooking  food  for 
the  visitors.  It  was  a  happy  time. 

The  leader  of  our  war  party  sent  word  to  me  that  this 
night  there  would  be  a  war  dance  over  the  scalps  that  had 
been  taken.  Although  I  could  walk  a  little,  I  could  not 
dance,  yet  I  wished  to  go  to  the  dance  and  watch  the 
others.  All  through  the  afternoon  boys  and  young  men 
were  bringing  wood  to  a  level  place  in  the  circle  of  the 
camp,  and  there  they  built  what  we  call  a  "skunk,"  piling 
up  long  poles  together  in  a  shape  somewhat  like  a  lodge, 
so  that  when  finished  the  "skunk"  looked  like  a  war 
lodge. 

Late  in  the  night  the  people  gathered  near  the  "skunk," 
called  together  by  the  sound  of  the  singing  and  the 
drumming.  Leaning  on  a  stick,  I  walked  down  there, 
and  before  long  the  "skunk"  was  lighted,  and  the  mem 
bers  of  our  war  party  and  the  young  women  began  to 
dance.  Although  I  could  not  dance,  my  face  was  painted 
black  like  those  of  other  men  of  the  war  party,  and  I 
sat  there  and  watched  the  young  people  dance  and  saw 
the  old  men  and  women  carry  about  the  scalps.  That 
was  one  of  the  last  of  the  old-fashioned  war  dances  that 
I  ever  saw  held. 

The  days  went  by,  and  before  the  birds  had  flown  over 
on  their  way  to  the  south,  and  the  weather  became  cold, 
I  could  walk  pretty  well,  and  could  ride  easily.  One  day 
about  this  time  a  doctor  whom  I  had  given  many  pres 
ents  a  year  or  two  before  to  cure  my  sickness  came  to  my 

93 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

lodge  and  asked  me  if  I  did  not  think  I  ought  to  give 
him  a  present  because  he  had  cured  me  of  the  swollen 
knee  that  I  had  had  so  long.  I  said  to  him  that  I  believed 
that  not  he  but  the  Great  Power,  to  whom  I  had  prayed 
and  to  whom  I  had  offered  my  body  as  a  sacrifice,  had 
cured  me.  The  doctor  said  that  this  was  a  mistake ;  that 
really  he  had  cured  me,  but  that  his  power  had  not  had 
time  to  work  until  after  I  had  started  on  my  warpath. 

I  did  not  think  that  this  was  true,  but  I  remembered 
that  this  man  possessed  mysterious  power,  and  I  felt 
that  perhaps  it  would  not  be  wise  to  refuse  what  he  asked. 
I  told  him  I  must  have  time  to  think  about  this,  and  that 
in  seven  days  he  should  return  and  I  would  talk  further 
with  him  about  it.  Not  long  after  this  I  told  my  uncle 
what  the  doctor  had  said.  At  first  he  was  angry  and  said 
that  I  would  do  well  to  refuse  what  had  been  asked  of 
me,  but  after  we  had  talked  about  it,  he  came  to  think  as 
I  thought,  that  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  make  the 
doctor  a  present,  rather  than  to  have  his  ill  will,  for 
it  was  possible  that  he  might  be  able  to  harm  us.  My 
uncle,  therefore,  told  me  to  give  the  doctor  a  certain 
horse,  and  a  day  or  two  after  that  he  sent  me  the  horse, 
to  be  put  with  my  band  and  later  to  be  given  to  the  doc 
tor.  When  he  received  the  horse,  the  doctor  was  glad, 
and  he  told  me  that  after  this  he  would  protect  me  in 
case  any  danger  threatened  me. 

The  winter  passed,  the  snow  melted,  the  birds  went 
north  in  spring,  and  the  buffalo  began  to  get  poor.  It 
seemed  to  me  now  that  I  was  as  strong  and  well  as  ever 

94 


A  Warrior  Ready  to  Die. 

I  had  been.  I  walked  alike  on  both  legs,  and  was  as  active 
as  any  of  the  young  men.  During  this  summer  I  joined 
one  of  the  soldier  societies  of  the  tribe,  and  in  this  I 
followed  the  advice  of  my  uncle,  who  had  belonged  to 
this  same  society. 


95 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. 


SOON  after  this  something  strange  happened. 

I  had  a  friend  named  Sun's  Road.  He  was  a  little 
younger  than  I,  perhaps  eighteen  or  twenty  years  old, 
big  enough  to  have  a  sweetheart,  and  there  was  a  girl 
in  the  camp  that  he  wished  to  please.  He  had  been  more 
than  once  to  war  and  had  done  well,  but  he  wanted  to 
do  still  better.  He  was  eager  to  do  great  things,  to 
make  the  people  talk  about  him  and  say  that  he  was  brave 
and  always  lucky.  Like  most  other  young  men,  he 
wished  to  become  a  great  man. 

Our  camp  was  on  the  South  Platte  River,  a  big  village 
of  near  two  hundred  lodges.  All  these  had  been  made 
during  the  summer,  and  were  new,  white  and  clean. 
The  camp  looked  nice,  but  now  the  buffalo  had  all  gone 
away.  None  were  to  be  found  and  the  people  were  hun 
gry.  They  had  eaten  all  the  food  they  had  saved  and  now 
they  were  eating  their  dogs,  and  most  of  these  were  al 
ready  gone. 

One  day  two  boys,  each  the  son  of  a  chief,  were  out  on 
the  prairie  hunting,  and  each  killed  an  antelope  and  took 
it  to  his  father's  lodge.  After  these  had  been  cooked  the 
chiefs  were  called  together  to  feast.  There  was  not 
enough  food  to  allow  them  to  call  any  others  except  the 
chiefs. 

I  heard  of  all  this  at  the  time,  but  it  was  a  good  deal 

97 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

later  that  Sun's  Road  told  me  what  he  had  done  and  what 
happened  to  him  about  this  time.  He  did  not  wish  me  to 
tell  anyone  about  it,  but  it  is  a  long  time  ago  and  those 
who  were  important  people  at  that  time  are  now  dead, 
so  I  think  no  harm  can  be  done  by  telling  of  it. 

After  these  chiefs  had  eaten,  they  talked  of  the  suf 
fering  of  the  people  and  tried  to  think  what  could  be 
done  to  help  them.  After  a  time  one  of  the  chiefs  came 
out  of  the  lodge  and  walked  through  the  camp  crying 
aloud  to  the  people,  saying,  "Listen,  listen,  you  people; 
we  will  all  stay  in  this  camp."  This  he  called  out  again 
and  again  as  he  walked  around  the  circle,  so  that  all 
might  hear  him. 

After  a  time  Sun's  Road  heard  his  name  called,  and 
the  old  man  shouted:  "Sun's  Road,  Sun's  Road;  the 
chief  wishes  you  to  go  to  his  lodge.  He  wishes  you  to  go 
out  to  look  for  buffalo." 

Sun's  Road  went  to  the  chief's  lodge  and  when  he  had 
entered  they  told  him  where  he  should  sit,  by  the  door, 
and  gave  him  a  little  piece  of  antelope  meat  to  eat. 
After  he  had  finished  eating,  the  chief  said  to  him:  "We 
want  you  to-night  to  go  across  the  river  to  the  other  side, 
and  you  shall  go  to  where  the  pile  of  bones  is,  where  we 
had  the  fight  with  the  Pawnees.  On  the  other  side  of  that 
hill  for  a  long  distance  the  country  is  level.  Look  over 
that  country  and  see  if  you  can  see  any  buffalo  and 
come  back  and  let  us  know  what  you  have  seen.  If  you  see 
no  buffalo  do  not  go  farther;  come  back  from  there." 

The  pile  of  bones  was  a  breastwork  of  buffalo  bones 

98 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. 

built  on  the  top  of  a  very  high  hill  by  some  Pawnees  who 
many  years  before  had  been  surrounded  there  by  men 
of  our  tribe. 

Sun's  Road  started  on  his  journey.  When  he  came  to 
the  river  he  took  off  his  leggings  and  moccasins  and 
waded  across.  It  was  cold,  for  by  this  time  it  was  late  in 
the  night.  On  the  other  side  of  the  river  he  put  on  his  leg 
gings  and  moccasins  again  and  walked  on  north,  some 
times  walking,  and  sometimes  trotting  for  a  little  way. 
After  he  had  walked  a  long  distance  and  it  was  beginning 
to  get  toward  morning  he  felt  tired  and  thought  that  he 
would  rest  for  a  little  while.  He  looked  about  for  a  place 
to  lie  down,  and  found  a  little  bunch  of  brush  behind  a 
small  bank,  and  there  unbelted  his  robe  and  lay  down  to 
sleep  for  a  little  while.  He  had  not  slept  long  when  his 
feet  became  cold  and  this  woke  him,  and  when  he  raised 
his  head  he  saw  that  day  was  beginning  to  break.  He 
said  to  himself:  "I  must  not  stay  here  longer.  I  am  out 
looking  for  buffalo  for  people  who  are  starving.  I  must 
not  lie  here,"  so  he  rose  and  tied  up  his  waist  and 
started  on. 

He  walked  on  and  on  and  at  length  he  saw  the  high 
hill  and  on  it  the  pile  of  bones.  As  he  went  on  he  came 
nearer  and  nearer,  and  he  walked  up  the  hill  until  he  was 
close  by  the  pile  of  bones.  Then  he  stopped,  for  he  was 
afraid.  He  was  afraid  that  when  he  looked  over  the  hill  he 
would  see  nothing.  He  wanted  to  make  a  great  man  of 
himself,  and  to  take  back  the  news  that  he  had  seen  buf 
falo,  so  that  the  people  would  call  his  name  and  all  would 

99 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

say  that  Sun's  Road  was  smart  and  was  lucky.  He  was  so 
afraid  that  he  would  see  nothing  when  he  looked  over 
the  hill  that  he  stopped  and  stood  there  and  thought. 
He  said  to  himself:  "If  I  shall  not  see  anything  and  go 
back,  they  will  all  hear  of  it  and  my  girl  will  hear  of  it. 
They  will  not  think  much  of  me.  If  I  could  only  see 
plenty  of  buffalo,  what  a  great  man  I  should  be!" 

He  went  on  and  when  he  came  to  the  top  of  the  hill 
and  peeped  over,  there  down  below  him  he  saw  and 
counted  thirty  bulls  and  a  calf.  He  looked  at  them  and 
said,  "Those  are  bulls;  they  are  not  much,  but  some 
thing."  He  looked  another  way,  and  presently  he  saw  one 
bull,  and  then  two,  and  then  others  far  off,  scattered— 
in  all  five  or  six.  He  said  again,  "These  are  not  many, 
but  they  will  be  some  help  to  the  people."  A  little  to 
his  right  and  down  the  hill  a  point  of  the  bluff  ran  out 
a  little  way  and  this  point  hid  a  part  of  the  country  be 
yond,  and  Sun's  Road  walked  down  there  just  a  few 
steps  to  see  what  was  over  that  way.  When  he  got  there 
he  looked  out  into  a  very  pretty,  level  basin  with  a  stream 
running  through  it,  and  said  to  himself:  "This  is  a 
pretty  place,  a  good  place  for  buffalo.  There  ought  to  be 
a  great  many  of  them  here." 

At  first  he  could  see  none,  but  he  kept  on  looking  and 
at  last  far  off,  just  specks,  he  saw  a  few — a  very  few, 
perhaps  ten  or  fifteen — cows. 

For  a  long  time  he  stood  there  trying  to  think  what  he 
should  tell  the  chiefs  when  he  went  back  to  the  camp.  He 
said  to  himself:  "If  I  go  back  and  tell  them  just  what  I 

100 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. , 

have  seen  it  will  be  nothing  to  tell.  Now,  T  want'  people  to 
think  that  I  am  a  great  man,  and  I  am  going  to  tell  them 
a  lie.  Yes,  I  shall  have  to  tell  them  a  lie.  I  shall  tell  them 
that  when  I  looked  over  the  hill  I  saw  those  thirty  bulls 
with  one  calf,  but  beyond  I  saw  many  buffalo — hun 
dreds.  I  know  it  is  a  lie,  but  I  shall  have  to  tell  it."  Then 
he  turned  about  and  went  back. 

He  traveled  fast,  walking  and  trotting,  and  sometimes 
running,  for  he  wished  to  reach  the  camp  before  night.  It 
was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  he  came  to  the  river, 
waded  across  and  reached  the  camp.  He  went  into  his 
father's  lodge  and  sat  down.  His  father  was  at  work 
making  a  whetstone.  He  looked  up  at  his  son,  and  said, 
"Ha,  you  have  returned,"  and  he  turned  to  his  wife  and 
said,  "Give  our  son  something  to  eat."  His  mother  was 
cooking  a  little  dog,  the  last  one  they  had,  and  she  gave 
Sun's  Road  a  piece  of  it  and  he  ate.  Then  he  took  off  his 
moccasins,  went  over  to  his  bed  and  lay  down,  covered 
himself,  and  went  to  sleep.  He  did  not  speak,  and  he 
made  no  report  to  the  chiefs.  Some  children  were  playing 
in  the  lodge,  and  making  a  little  noise,  and  his  father 
spoke  to  them,  saying,  "Go  out,  you  will  wake  my  son; 
he  is  tired  and  has  gone  to  sleep."  Sun's  Road  slept  only 
for  a  short  time,  for  the  lie  that  he  was  going  to  tell 
troubled  him.  Pretty  soon  he  heard  one  of  the  old  chiefs 
coming — old  Double  Head.  He  could  hear  him  coming, 
coughing  and  groaning  and  clearing  his  throat,  and 
he  knew  who  it  was  by  the  sound.  The  chief  entered  the 
lodge  and  sat  down,  and  said  to  Sun's  Road's  father, 

101 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

s6ri*  returned?"  The  father  replied,  "Yes,  he 
is  asleep."  He  filled  the  pipe  and  Double  Head  smoked. 
Sun's  Road  lay  still.  In  a  few  moments  he  heard  another 
old  man  coming  towards  the  lodge  grunting.  He  knew 
who  it  was — White  Cow.  He  came  in,  sat  down,  asked  the 
same  question  that  Double  Head  had  asked,  and  smoked. 

White  Cow  called  to  Sun's  Road,  "Nephew,  get  up 
now  and  tell  us  what  you  saw;  we  are  starving." 

Sun's  Road  rolled  over,  pulled  the  robe  from  his  head, 
raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  said:  "I  went  to  the  hill 
of  the  pile  of  bones,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill 
right  over  beyond  the  bones  I  saw  thirty  bulls  and  a  calf. 
Just  beyond  them,  as  I  looked  over,  I  saw  many  buffalo." 

The  old  men  stood  up  and  went  out.  Soon  he  heard 
them  crying  out  through  the  camp  so  that  all  the  people 
should  hear:  "Sun's  Road  has  come  in.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  pile  of  bones  he  saw  thirty  bulls  and  a  calf,  and 
just  below  this  he  saw  many  buffalo.  Gather  in  your 
horses.  Get  them  up.  Women,  sharpen  your  knives. 
Men,  whet  your  arrow  points.  Tie  up  your  horses,  and 
early  in  the  morning  we  will  go  after  buffalo.  The  camp 
will  stay  here.  All  will  go  on  horseback." 

Sun's  Road  was  frightened  when  he  heard  this,  but  it 
was  now  too  late  to  be  sorry  for  what  he  had  done.  Next 
morning  just  at  break  of  day,  before  it  was  light,  all 
the  people  were  out.  The  old  crier  was  still  shouting  out, 
"Saddle  your  horses;  make  ready  to  start,  men,  women 
and  all." 

Soon  all  were  saddled,  and  they  crossed  the  river  and 

102 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. 

went  on.  The  chiefs  rode  first  and  everyone  was  behind 
them.  No  one  rode  ahead  of  them.  They  went  pretty 
fast,  for  all  were  eager  to  get  to  the  buffalo. 

Pretty  soon  they  came  in  sight  of  the  pile  of  bones. 
Sun's  Road  could  hear  the  old  chiefs  talking  and  saying 
to  each  other,  "There  are  the  bones ;  soon  we  will  be  there 
at  the  buffalo."  All  the  time  he  kept  thinking  of  the  lie 
that  he  had  told,  and  remembering  that  there  were  only 
a  few  buffalo,  while  he  had  said  that  there  were  many. 
He  did  not  know  what  he  should  do. 

When  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill  close  to  the 
bones,  the  chiefs  stopped  and  everyone  behind  them 
stopped.  All  the  chiefs  got  off  their  horses  and  sat  down 
in  a  row  and  filled  the  pipe  and  began  to  smoke.  Soon 
Sun's  Road  heard  one  of  them  call  out:  "Sun's  Road, 
Sun's  Road,  go  up  to  the  pile  of  bones  and  see  if  you  can 
see  your  buffalo  now.  Let  us  know  if  they  are  there." 
Then  Sun's  Road  was  still  more  frightened.  When  he 
first  heard  his  name  called,  his  heart  seemed  to  stop  and 
then  it  began  to  beat  so  fast  that  it  almost  choked  him. 
He  did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  did  not  move. 

Soon  old  Standing  Water,  another  chief,  called  out 
sharply,  "Sun's  Road,  go  to  the  pile  of  bones  and  see 
if  you  can  see  those  buffalo ;  come  back  and  tell  us  what 
you  see." 

Then  Sun's  Road  started  and  rode  up  towards  the 
pile  of  bones.  Just  as  he  did  so  a  raven  flew  over  him  and 
began  to  call  "Ca,  Ca,  Ca."  He  kept  riding  on,  his  heart 
beating  fast,  but  as  he  rode  he  held  up  his  hands  to  the 

103 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

raven  and  prayed,  "Ah,  raven,  take  pity  on  me  and 
fetch  the  buffalo."  He  held  his  hands  up  higher  and 
prayed  to  the  Great  Power,  "O  He  amma  wihio,  you 
are  the  one  who  made  the  buffalo ;  take  pity  on  me ;  you 
know  what  I  need."  Then  he  rode  up  to  the  top  of  the 
hill. 

The  moment  his  head  got  to  where  he  could  see  over 
the  hill,  he  looked  and  there  he  saw  thirty  bulls  and  the 
calf.  They  had  hardly  moved  at  all.  Then  he  went  on  a 
step  or  two  further,  so  that  he  could  see  beyond  them, 
and  the  place  that  he  had  seen  the  day  before  was  just 
full  of  buffalo.  Again  he  held  up  his  hands  to  the  sky 
and  said:  "O  raven,  O  He  amma  wihio,  you  have 
made  my  words  true.  The  lie  that  I  told  you  have  made 
come  true." 

He  turned  and  rode  down  the  hill  towards  the  chiefs. 
Before  he  had  reached  them,  one  of  them  called  to  him 
to  come  right  to  the  middle  of  the  line  where  they  were 
sitting,  and  when  he  had  come  near,  they  told  him  to  get 
off  his  horse  and  lead  it  off  to  one  side  and  then  to  come 
back  to  the  middle  of  the  line.  They  sent  a  young  man  to 
bring  a  buffalo  chip  and  he  brought  one  and  put  it  down 
on  the  ground  before  the  old  chief  Standing  Water, 
and  then  went  away.  The  chief  placed  it  on  the  ground  in 
front  of  him,  about  the  length  of  his  arm  distant  from  his 
knees.  Then  he  filled  a  pipe.  Sun's  Road  still  stood  out 
in  front  of  the  line,  in  sight  of  all  the  people.  He  was  still 
badly  frightened,  for  he  did  not  know  what  they  were 

104 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. 

going  to  do.  He  was  young,  and  did  not  know  the  cere 
monies. 

When  the  pipe  was  filled,  the  old  chief  lighted  it  and 
pointed  the  stem  to  the  east,  to  the  south,  to  the  west  and 
to  the  north,  then  up  to  the  sky,  and  then  down  to  the 
ground.  Then  he  rested  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  on  the  buf 
falo  chip  and  said,  "Sun's  Road,  come  here."  When  he 
had  come  close,  the  chief  said,  "Take  hold  of  this  pipe 
and  draw  on  it  five  times."  The  old  man  held  the  pipe, 
and  so  did  Sun's  Road,  until  he  had  drawn  five  times  on 
the  pipe.  Then  the  chief  said,  "Now  do  you  hold  the 
pipe,"and  Sun's  Road  held  it  while  the  old  man  took  his 
hands  away,  and  he  said:  "Sun's  Road,  pass  your  hands 
all  down  the  stem  and  over  the  pipe,  and  then  rub  your 
hands  over  your  face  and  head,  and  over  your  arms  and 
body  and  legs.  Then  hand  me  the  pipe."  Sun's  Road  did 
as  he  was  bade.  Then  the  old  man  put  his  hand  on  the 
buffalo  chip  and  said  to  Sun's  Road,  "Did  you  see 
bulls?" 

And  Sun's  Road  answered,  "I  saw  them." 

The  old  man  pulled  in  the  chip  a  little  way  toward 
himself. 

"Did  you  see  cows?" 

"I  saw  them." 

The  chief  moved  the  chip  a  little  further  toward  him 
self. 

"Did  you  see  two-year-olds?" 

"I  saw  them." 

105 


When  Buffalo  Ean. 

Standing  Water  moved  the  chip  a  little  further  toward 
himself. 

"Did  you  see  yearlings?" 

"I  saw  them." 

"Did  you  see  small  calves?" 

"I  saw  them." 

After  each  answer  the  chip  was  moved  nearer  the 
chief,  and  when  all  the  questions  had  been  answered  it 
was  close  to  his  body.  Then  Standing  Water  lifted  up 
his  hands  toward  the  sky  and  thanked  He  amma  wihio 
for  all  his  goodness  to  the  people. 

Standing  Water  cleaned  out  the  pipe,  emptied  the 
ashes  on  the  chip  in  four  piles  and  left  them  there.  He 
put  his  pipe  in  its  sheath  and  said  to  the  people:  "Now, 
let  none  of  you  people  go  around  toward  the  left  and 
pass  in  front  of  this  chip — between  it  and  the  camp. 
Back  off  and  all  go  around  behind  it,  on  the  side  toward 
the  buffalo.  If  you  should  pass  in  front  of  it  that  might 
make  the  buffalo  all  go  away."  All  the  people  went 
around  it,  as  they  had  been  told  to  do. 

The  chiefs  mounted  and  all  rode  up  on  the  ridge  and 
all  saw  the  buffalo.  The  chiefs  said:  "Now  here  we  will 
divide  into  two  parties ;  let  half  go  to  the  right  and  half 
to  the  left.  The  chiefs  will  go  straight  down  from  here. 
Let  one  party  go  around  below  the  buffalo,  and  the  other 
party  on  the  upper  side.  When  you  get  to  your  places 
let  all  make  the  charge  at  the  same  time." 

Sun's  Road  watched  where  his  girl  was  riding,  and 
when  he  saw  that  she  went  to  the  right  he  went  that  way 

106 


A  Lie  That  Came  True. 

too,  and  she  saw  him  on  his  fine  horse.  They  charged 
down  on  the  buffalo  and  he  rode  close  to  a  fat  cow  and 
killed  it. 

The  people  killed  plenty  of  buffalo  and  took  much 
meat  back  to  the  camp  and  ate,  and  all  were  happy. 

A  day  or  two  afterward  someone  who  was  out  saw 
the  buffalo  quite  close  and  coming  toward  the  river. 
They  went  out  and  chased  them  and  again  killed  plenty. 
Two  or  three  days  later  the  buffalo  began  to  come 
down  to  the  river  and  then  to  cross  the  river  and  to  feed 
in  the  hills  about  the  camp.  The  people  stayed  in  this 
camp  for  a  long  time  and  killed  many  buffalo  and  made 
plenty  of  robes. 


107 


My  Marriage. 


THE  next  summer  I  went  with  a  party  to  war  against 
the  Mexicans.  There  were  seventeen  men,  and  two  of 
them,  Howling  Wolf  and  Red  Dog,  had  taken  their 
wives  with  them.  We  took  many  horses,  and  were  coming 
back,  when,  while  we  were  passing  through  the  moun 
tains,  two  of  the  young  men  who  had  been  sent  ahead  as 
scouts  came  hurrying  back  and  told  us  that  they  had  been 
seen  by  a  camp  of  enemies,  and  that  many  of  them  were 
coming.  We  had  a  little  time,  and  perhaps  if  the  leaders 
of  the  party  had  been  willing  to  give  up  the  horses  we 
were  driving  and  had  told  each  man  to  catch  his  fastest 
horse,  we  might  have  run  away,  but  the  leaders  did  not 
like  to  leave  the  horses  and  determined  to  fight  those 
who  were  coming.  Before  long  we  saw  them,  Utes  and 
Mountain  Apaches,  a  large  party — too  many  for  us  to 
fight  with.  We  started  to  run. 

Our  horses  were  tired,  and  it  was  not  long  before  our 
enemies  began  to  overtake  us  and  some  of  them  to  strike 
us  with  their  whips,  counting  coups.  Howling  Wolf,  a 
brave  man,  rode  behind  us  all,  trying  to  defend  us,  rid 
ing  back  and  forth  fighting  off  the  enemy  and  whipping 
up  the  slower  horses.  As  we  ran,  partly  surrounded  by 
the  enemy  and  all  in  confusion,  the  girth  on  the  saddle 
of  Howling  Wolf's  wife  broke  and  she  fell  off  her  horse 
with  the  saddle,  and  was  left  behind  and  taken  prisoner. 

109 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

One  of  the  Utes  captured  her  and  took  her  up  behind 
him  on  his  horse. 

After  they  had  taken  this  prisoner  the  enemy 
stopped,  and  presently  one  of  our  men  called  out  to 
Howling  Wolf,  saying,  "Look,  look,  there  is  your  wife! 
They  have  taken  her  prisoner!"  Howling  Wolf  said, 
"Can  that  be?"  and  then  as  he  looked  he  threw  down  his 
empty  gun,  calling  out,  "Someone  pick  up  that  gun." 
He  drew  his  bow  and  strung  it,  and  alone  charged  back 
on  the  man  who  had  his  wife.  The  Utes  had  gathered  in 
a  little  group  about  this  woman,  and  Howling  Wolf 
rode  straight  for  this  crowd,  shooting  right  and  left  with 
his  arrows,  when  he  got  close  to  them.  He  ran  against 
one  man,  and  his  horse  knocked  down  horse  and 
rider.  He  passed  through  the  crowd  up  to  the  man  who 
had  his  wife  as  prisoner,  and  shot  an  arrow  through  him, 
and  then  shot  another  man  who  tried  to  lead  off  the  horse 
the  woman  was  riding.  A  third  ran  up  to  take  the  bridle 
and  he  shot  an  arrow  through  his  head.  Then  all  the  Utes 
made  a  rush  at  Howling  Wolf  and  his  wife.  Their  horses 
were  separated,  and  the  woman  pushed  off  to  one  side. 
All  the  Utes  were  shooting  at  Howling  Wolf,  and  he 
fought  until  all  his  arrows  were  gone,  and  then  he  was 
pushed  off  further,  and  rode  to  us.  We  never  knew  how 
many  of  the  Utes  were  wounded.  Howling  Wolf  was  not 
hurt,  but  his  horse  was  shot  through  the  mane  with  an 
arrow. 

Long  afterwards,  we  were  told  that  the  Utes  said  to 
this  woman,  "Who  is  that  man  who  is  doing  all  this  fight- 

110 


My  Marriage. 

ing?"  She  answered  proudly,  "That  man  is  my  husband." 
When  she  said  that  the  Utes  rushed  upon  her  and  shot 
her  with  arrows,  so  that  she  died. 

The  enemy  did  not  follow  us  further.  They  had  killed 
two  more  of  our  men  and  this  woman,  and  had  cap 
tured  all  the  horses  we  were  driving.  Perhaps  they  were 
satisfied. 

For  the  last  year  I  had  been  thinking  a  great  deal 
about  Standing  Alone.  I  saw  and  spoke  to  her  some 
times,  but  in  these  later  days  not  so  often  as  when  I  had 
been  younger  and  had  not  been  so  often  going  on  the 
warpath  against  my  enemies.  Yet  she  knew  how  I  felt 
and  her  family  and  my  mother  also  knew  how  I  felt. 
She  was  wearing  a  ring  of  horn  that  I  had  given  her  and 
I  wore  her  ring. 

Three  times  in  the  last  two  years  when  I  had  come 
back  from  my  war  journeys  with  horses  I  had  driven  the 
horses  to  Two  Bulls'  lodge  and  left  them  there,  and  had 
sent  him  a  message  telling  him  that  those  horses  were 
his.  I  had  not  given  any  present  to  Standing  Alone. 

In  summer  of  this  year  I  spoke  to  my  uncle  and  told 
him  that  I  wished  to  send  horses  to  Two  Bulls,  and  to  ask 
him  to  give  me  his  daughter  for  my  wife.  My  uncle  felt 
that  this  would  be  good  and  advised  me  to  do  it,  saying 
that  if  I  had  not  so  many  horses  as  I  wished  to  send  I 
should  go  to  his  band  and  take  any  that  I  liked.  I  told 
him  that  this  need  not  be  done  for  I,  myself,  could  fur 
nish  the  horses.  Besides,  my  relations  would  give  such 
other  presents  as  might  be  needed. 

Ill 


When  Buffalo  Han. 

So  it  happened  that  about  the  time  the  leaves  of  the 
cottonwoods  began  to  turn  yellow,  my  aunt,  my  mother's 
oldest  sister,  went  to  Two  Bulls'  lodge  taking  ten  horses, 
which  she  tied  before  the  lodge,  and  then,  entering,  gave 
the  message,  saying  that  Wikis  wished  Standing  Alone 
for  his  wife.  After  she  had  said  this,  my  aunt  returned  to 
her  lodge. 

That  night  Two  Bulls  sent  for  his  relations  and  told 
them  what  I  had  said.  They  counseled  together  and 
agreed  that  the  young  woman  should  be  given  to  me. 
When  I  learned  this  my  heart  was  stirred. 

The  news  came  to  my  lodge  through  one  of  the  women 
of  Two  Bulls'  family,  and  my  mother  and  sisters  pre 
pared  our  lodge  for  the  coming  of  Standing  Alone. 

It  wras  about  the  middle  of  the  day  when  they  told  me 
that  she  was  coming. 

Standing  Alone,  finely  dressed,  was  riding  a  handsome 
spotted  horse  led  by  one  of  her  relations,  and  other 
women  were  coming  behind,  leading  other  horses  which 
bore  loads. 

The  horse  ridden  by  Standing  Alone  was  led  up  close 
to  the  lodge  and  my  mother  ran  out  to  it.  Standing  Alone 
put  her  arms  around  my  mother's  neck  and  slipped  out 
of  the  saddle  on  my  mother's  back.  My  sisters  caught  her 
feet  and  supported  Standing  Alone,  who  was  thus  car 
ried  on  my  mother's  back  into  the  lodge  and  her  feet  did 
not  touch  the  ground.  Then  she  was  carried  around  to  the 
back  of  the  lodge  where  my  sleeping  place  was  and  seated 
next  to  me  on  my  bed.  Presently  food  was  prepared  and 

112 


My  Marriage. 

for  the  dish  to  be  offered  to  Standing  Alone  my  mother 
cut  up  the  meat  into  small  pieces,  so  that  she  should 
have  no  trouble  in  eating  her  food.  Then  Standing  Alone 
and  I  ate  together  and  so  I  took  her  for  my  wife. 

Many  of  the  gifts  that  Two  Bulls  had  sent  with  Stand 
ing  Alone  were  distributed  among  my  relations. 

That  day  all  my  near  relations  came,  bringing  gifts 
of  many  sorts  to  us  who  were  newly  married.  They 
brought  us  a  lodge  and  much  lodge  furniture — robes  and 
bedding,  backrests,  mats  and  dishes — all  the  things  that 
people  used  in  the  life  of  the  camp.  Of  these  presents 
some  were  sent  to  the  relations  of  Standing  Alone  and 
they  in  turn  sent  other  presents  to  us,  so  that  as  husband 
and  wife  Standing  Alone  and  I  began  our  life  well  pro 
vided  with  all  that  we  needed. 

I  did  not  again  go  to  war  that  year,  but  spent  much  of 
my  time  hunting — providing  food  for  my  own  family 
and  often  leaving  meat  at  my  father-in-law's  lodge. 

Up  to  this  time,  as  I  look  back  on  it  to-day,  it  seems  to 
me  that  life  had  been  easy  for  me  and  for  the  tribe.  We 
had  many  skins  for  robes,  lodges  and  clothing.  Food  was 
plenty.  If  we  needed  horses  we  made  journeys  to  war 
against  our  enemies  to  the  south  and  took  what  we  re 
quired — but  hard  times  were  coming. 

It  was  but  a  few  years  after  I  took  Standing  Alone 
for  my  wife,  when  my  oldest  boy  was  four  years  old,  that 
the  wars  were  begun  between  the  white  people  and  my 
tribe. 

This  was  a  hard  time.  It  is  true  we  killed  many  white 

113 


When  Buffalo  Ran. 

people  and  captured  much  property,  but  though  most 
of  the  tribe  did  not  seem  to  see  that  it  was  so,  my  uncle 
and  I  felt  that  the  Indians  were  being  crowded  out, 
pushed  further  and  further  away  from  where  we  had  al 
ways  been — where  we  belonged.  After  each  expedition 
through  the  country  by  white  troops  and  after  each 
fight  that  we  had  with  the  white  men,  we  felt  as  if  some 
great  hand  that  was  all  around  my  tribe  and  all  the  other 
tribes,  was  closing  a  little  tighter  about  us  all,  and  that 
at  last  it  would  grasp  us  and  squeeze  us  to  death. 

Of  that  bad  time  and  of  what  followed  that  time,  I 
do  not  wish  to  speak,  and  so  my  story  ends. 


114 


FEINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


OVERDUE. 


SEVENTH 


YC  2781 


S7GS 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


